Hunted
by OTP
Summary: Riza's house has been broken into and she is being watched! Now she must fight for her life against an unknown stalker. can Roy help her before it's too late? Slight OOC Royai and some violent themes in later chapters Ch.4 RE-UPLOADED!
1. A Broken Home

RE-UPLOADED 10/12/08

Chapter 1 A Broken Home

First Lt. Riza Hawkeye was walking down the darkened sidewalk heading home for the night. The Colonel hadn't finished his work on time and she had to stay to make sure he finished it…again. They didn't finish until 1 o'clock in the morning.

It was nearly half past now and all Riza wanted to do was get home and go to bed. Riza was annoyed with the Colonel, "_Why can't he finish his work on time instead of waiting till the last moment to start it? Argh, the man is so frustrating!"_ she thought with a groan.

She turned onto the path that lead to her house and pulled out her keys. The moment her foot touched the first step to her porch, the hairs on the back of her neck rose. She paused and pulled out her gun, _"Something's wrong…"_

Riza cautiously opened the door and her eyes widened in shock. The walls were scratched, tables and chairs were flipped over or broken, the furniture was ripped, and stuffing was strewn all about the house. She slowly stepped forward and something crunched under the weight of her foot.

She looked down and saw a broken picture frame. The Colonel's unit was all there and you couldn't see Armstrong's head, he was too tall. She looked up and her hazel eyes scoured the area, _"Who the hell would do this to my house?" _she asked herself as she examined all of the rooms at gunpoint to make sure that the perpetrator was long gone.

Riza found no sign of life and sighed. Her house was a complete disaster and it would take weeks to repair it.

Then she realized something was missing, _"Where's Hayate?" _ she immediately went through her house again and called for her dog.

She heard a whimper from her bedroom and ran in to find Hayate cowering under the bed.

When he saw her, he ran out, huddled next to her, and licked her hand. Riza breathed a sigh of relief, he had only a few scratches, but other than that, he was unharmed.

She raised her gun and searched for her phone. She found it strewn across the floor in the hallway.

_"Damn, what do I do now? I know that no one is going to be at the office at this time of night and I shouldn't involve civilians. Hmmm…I can't stay here, that much is certain."_ She walked back to the entryway and picked up the broken picture frame, gazing intently at the people in it.

_"Hmmm…I can't go to Fuery or Falman's, they're in the dorms. Breda and Havoc are out of the question. Definitely not Armstrong's. That only leaves Maes and the Colonel." _ She groaned. She would much rather stay with Maes, but the Colonel's was closer and he was probably still awake.

Riza bent down again and deposited the picture back on the floor. Standing up, she walked back into her room to see if anything could be salvaged.

Black Hayate sniffed the photo and barked. Riza poked her head out of her room to see what he was barking at.

"What is it Hayate?" she asked as she walked over to him.

He barked again and nudged the picture with his nose. Then he rested his paw on the Colonel's profile.

_"I seem to have a very smart dog or the Colonel has been giving him too many treats." _She sighed and picked the dog up.

"I guess we're going to the Colonel's house." He barked happily in reply, but Riza frowned. She still didn't know why someone would destroy her home and not take anything.

Riza cautiously walked out of her house with her gun in one hand and Hayate clutched securely in the other. Her hazel eyes moved among the shadows, searching for any signs of movement. She saw nothing but darkness and she became even more alert.

The feeling of being watched never left her and it stayed with her throughout the journey to the Colonel's.

The walk there was uneventful and her footsteps echoed in the deserted streets. This only made her more nervous and she quickened her pace. Even Hayate sensed her nervousness and stayed quiet.

Soon, they had reached the Colonel's door. She looked around once more, still feeling somebody's eyes on her, but she still saw nothing.

She knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Nothing happened.

Riza tried again and with the same result. She frowned and added her voice to her tirade.

"Colonel Mustang! It's Hawkeye! Please open the door!" she stopped and waited for an answer.

A small thump came from inside and then she heard the scrapes of locks being undone.

Before the door opened, she saw something move out of the corner of her eyes. She had yet to notice that Roy Mustang had opened the door.

"Lt. did you need something?" he yawned and leaned against the metal doorframe.

Riza turned and dragged him back into his house and shut the door. She let Hayate down and then proceeded to redo all of the locks.

Roy gazed at her incredulously, "Mind explaining what's going on here Hawkeye?"

"Sorry sir, you'll have to forgive my intrusion. Something has come up." She said. She gave her superior officer a salute. Roy looked down at his attire and winced. He was wearing boxers and a T-shirt.

Then the words 'something has come up' infiltrated his brain. His black eye narrowed, "Did something happen, Lt.?"

"My house was broken into and nearly everything was destroyed. Nothing was taken though, so…"

"Your house was broken into?! Are you hurt?" he said in an anxious tone.

She shook her head, "Yes sir, my house was ransacked and…"

"You didn't answer my question Riza. Are you alright? And why would anybody try or want to break into your house?" he asked in a concerned, but firm voice.

Riza was surprised he had used her first name, but she let it slide, "I'm fine and no, I don't know why anyone would try to break into my place. Let alone destroy it."

Roy thought for a moment, "Do you think it might have been someone you know?"

She shook her head again, "No, I don't know many people outside of the military and the ones I do know wouldn't try anything like this."

Roy frowned at her comment, "I think someone is watching you. Have you been feeling like your being watched lately?"

"As a matter of fact I have, quite a lot actually." She said offhandedly.

"Damn!" Roy ran over to the front window and quickly jerked the curtains closed. After that, he went over to the door and pulled out a piece of chalk. He began to draw a transmutation circle on the door.

When he finished, he tucked the chalk away and touched the circle. There was a flash of red light and the sides of the framework were soon welded together.

Roy stepped back to examine his work, "That should hold for now. We can't do anything about this guy right now, but we can at least make sure he can't spy on us for a while."

Riza agreed with his reasoning, but she was a little startled by his concern, "I can see your reasons sir, but why are you doing this?"

"I don't like it when someone threatens my friends." He said simply. He bent down and gave Hayate a soft pat on the head. "Judging by your attire, you just got home and haven't had a chance to feed this little guy, am I right?"

She nodded, "Yes, I haven't fed him yet, let alone getting changed."

Roy scratched his chin, "Hmmm…I'll be right back with something more comfortable for you to wear. Then I'll get something for Hayate to eat. Do you want anything?"

She shook her head and Hayate barked at Roy who stood up and walked down the hallway to his room. Riza walked over and sat down on the couch. She closed her eyes and felt Hayate jump up and join her.

She sat there resting for a few minutes, thinking about what she was going to do about her current situation.

"Here, these are by far more comfortable then what you're wearing now." She almost pulled up her gun to point it at him, but she was too exhausted.

Roy tossed her some grey sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt that said 'Fire is my friend.'

Riza smiled half-heartedly, "Thank you sir. Do you have somewhere I can change?"

"Down the hall, second door on the left." He pointed and headed into the kitchen with Hayate trotting happily behind him.

Riza got up and headed down the hallway, _"I hope the guys at work don't tease us about this… I'm going to be wearing his clothes and I'm in his house, of course they're going to tease us about it."_

She found the right door and was about to go in when she heard Roy's voice, "Feel free to take a shower Riza! There are towels in the cupboard next to the sink!"

"Yes sir!" she blushed some more, 'Now I'm taking a shower in his house. Damn, if they make a crack about any of this, I'll shoot them.' She thought. Riza sighed and closed the door.

Roy was in the kitchen getting two bowls for Hayate. He filled one with water and the other with some scraps of meat. Then, he set them on the ground for Buraha. The dog

eagerly dug in.

He smiled and gave him a pat on the head. Roy stood up and heard the sound of running water. _"I guess she took my offer."_ He frowned as he thought of what had happened.

_"Why would someone break into her house, destroy everything, and leave with nothing? She will not stay at her home while she is being watched and I wouldn't allow her to anyways. I won't let anyone hurt her. Maybe I should call Maes; he's in the investigations department…"_

Roy walked over to his phone and dialed Maes' number. He waited for an answer.

A sleepy voice answered him, _"Hughes speaking."_

"Hey Maes, its Roy."

_"Why are you calling me this late at night?"_ Maes groaned.

"Something's come up Maes."

The tired tone disappeared, _"What's happened Roy?"_

"Someone broke into Riza's house and destroyed everything but didn't take anything."

_"What?! Who would be stupid enough to do that to Riza?! Is she ok?!"_

"Yeah, she's fine. She's over here with me right…" Roy realized his mistake too late.

_"Riza's over there at your house? I knew you loved her! You sly dog."_ Roy was twitching.

"Shut it Maes. She told me she has been feeling as if someone has been watching her. She felt it when she was walking over to my house."

The serious tone was back, _"She's being watched? Hmmm, I can't do anything about this until morning, so she's going to have to stay with you for a while."_

"That's obvious Maes, I'm not about to let her stay at her house alone. I'll just have to get the spare room ready for her."

_"Good. Well, some of us need some sleep and you need to get a wife! Bye!"_

Roy slammed the phone down, "Shut up!"

"Go easy on the phone sir. I'm assuming you were talking to Maes?" Riza had finished and was standing in front of him with his clothes on and her hair down.

Roy stared, _"Damn…this is going to be a long night."_

Riza caught him staring and sighed, "Sir, if you wouldn't mind, may I have a blanket?"

He snapped out of his fantasies, "Wha? Oh, yes. Here, let me go and get one." He ran off and Riza smiled.

Black Hayate strolled up to her and barked. She looked down and picked the dog up.

When Roy came back, Riza was sitting on the couch with Hayate dozing on her lap.

"Here, I brought you a blanket and a pillow." He said softly, offering her a light blue blanket and pillow.

"Thank you, sir."

Roy frowned, "We're no longer in the office Riza, you don't have to call me sir."

Riza turned away, blushing slightly, "Of course…Roy."

He mentally jumped for joy, "Good, do you need anything else?"

She shook her head and watched as he scratched at his eye patch.

Her expression softened, "Does it still hurt? It's been two years." She said softly.

Roy flinched and sat down next to her on the couch, "Not so much as before, but it still gets sore and itchy now and then."

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Roy didn't like it and he decided to do something. He stood up and walked down the hallway. Riza watched him go, confused.

He soon came back with a chessboard. Roy grinned, "You want to play a game?"

Riza smiled and carefully lifted Hayate out of her lap and set him next to her.

Roy came over and sat down on the other side of the couch. He opened the chessboard, "Black or white?"

She shrugged, "Whatever."

"White it is." Roy said comically and he began to set up the board.

They soon had a very competitive game going and Riza was winning.

Roy was caught between a rock and a hard place. He could sacrifice his queen and get her king in check or keep his queen and lose the game.

Riza waited patiently for him to make a move. He finally moved a piece and sat back with a sigh.

She moved her knight, "Checkmate. You could have won if you sacrificed your queen." She said calmly.

He picked up the black queen, "Yes well, it's my favorite piece. I can't seem to give it up."

"Oh really?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

He shrugged and yawned, "Yup."

They played a few more games and Riza spoke up, "By the way, what did Maes say?" she said and moved her pawn.

"He told me that he can't do anything about your house until morning." He captured her bishop.

"I see, so I can go back home soon?" here is where Roy faltered.

"Ah yes…about that. Do you have any family members you can stay with until we catch this guy?"

Riza shook her head, "The only family I have is my grandfather and he lives in the east."

Roy sighed and leaned back on the couch, "In that case, you'll have to stay with either me or Maes. We aren't letting you stay alone at your house when someone is after you."

She frowned, "I am perfectly capable of protecting myself. I…"

"I am perfectly aware that you can protect yourself, but I'm not willing to take that risk. You will stay with Maes or me. It's your choice." He said firmly.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I will have to order you to stay here and you don't get a choice."

Her eyes flashed and she glared at him, "…Fine, I'll stay with you. Do you have a guest room? I don't think I want to sleep on a couch while I'm here."

He almost cringed, "All I have to do is get the room ready."

She yawned, "Good, we have work in the morning, so let's get some sleep."

Roy nodded and picked up the chessboard and set it on the coffee table.

Hayate had moved onto Roy's lap. Roy looked down in surprise, "Ummm…Riza…can you get him off? I don't want to wake him up."

Riza grinned, "Here, this is how you pick him up without waking him up." She reached over and gently picked him up. He watched as she placed him back on her lap.

Hayate quickly snuggled up to Riza and curled up into a ball.

Roy reached over and gave him a gentle pat on the head, "He's a good dog."

Riza was smiling softly and she yawned, "Yeah, I'm glad to have him around."

"You should get some sleep. We'll deal with these issues in the morning. Good night Riza." He got up and walked down the hallway, turning out the lights as he went.

Riza curled up and went to sleep with a smile on her face.

Two violet orbs narrowed as they watched the house.

_"I will make you pay Miss Hawkeye."_ They thought maliciously. Then, they disappeared into the shadows.

Otp: There you have it. angsty and everything. I hope you liked it

Roy: 'cackles' Riza…in my house…wearing my clothes…priceless

Riza: 'pulls out nerf sniper rifle and shoots at Roy'

Otp: Hope everyone liked the first chapter and please review! I love you all 'glomps'


	2. Nightmares and Pancakes

Otp: I can't believe you broke your internet Lemming

RE-UPLOADED 10/12/08

Chapter 2 Nightmares and Breakfast Conversations

Riza twisted and turned in her sleep. She was sweating and a pained grimace contorted her face. Black Hayate watched his owner worridly. He whined, trying to wake her up. It didn't work and he tried barking with the same result.

After that, he ran off to find help.

Riza's Nightmare:

She was running and clutching her shoulder, which hung lifeless at her side. It was dark, too dark to see anything in front of her. She turned her head and looked behind her and forged ahead, trying to distance herself from her pursuer.

Suddenly, the road ended and she was trapped. She looked behind again and frantically began to search for any means of escape. She found none.

She pressed her back against the wall, knowing there was nothing more she could do. She winced as a wave of pain erupted from her shoulder. Her guns were gone and she felt helpless.

An eerie laugh broke the silence, "You cannot escape Miss Riza Hawkeye. You are my prey and I am the predator. You can do nothing to stay your fate. You will die by my hand."

A shadow towered over her with violet eyes, a gleaming gun was clutched in his hand. Her eyes widened in shock, he had her gun and it were aimed at her heart. The manic grin spread across his face as he raised it to her face.

"No one can save you now Miss Hawkeye. Say good bye Lt." the gun fired and she screamed.

"Riza! Dammit Riza, wake up!"

Her eyes snapped open and she found herself gazing into Roy's eye, the eyepatch was nowhere to be seen.

"My God, what happened Riza? You just started screaming. I didn't hear anything until Hayate ran in and woke me up. He led me here and I found you thrashing around. Are you alright?" he asked, holding her shoulders firmly, the concern evident in his voice.

Riza shook her head to try and remove the images from her mind, but to no avail. She couldn't get rid of the image of those violet eyes. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them.

Roy sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a comforting embrace. Riza unconsciously leaned into his embrace trying to calm herself down. She wasn't crying and she wasn't about to let Roy see her cry if it came to that.

Hayate wanted to help comfort his master so he jumped up and sat next to her. He gave her the most adorable puppy dog eyes anyone could have imagined and she smiled.

She reached out and gave him a soft pat on the head. "Thanks Hayate."

Roy pouted at this, "Hmph, the dog gets all the appreciation, lucky mutt. Don't I get any thanks?"

Riza chuckled halfheartedly at this, "Sorry, I almost forgot about you Roy. Thank you for waking me up."

"You're welcome, mind telling me what happened?" he asked softly. Riza didn't answer him and he waited patiently for her to tell him on her own.

"It…it was a nightmare of sorts. I was running away from something and I was injured. My guns were missing too. Then, I was trapped at a dead end and I couldn't escape. I turned to wait for my pursuer, I knew I couldn't out run him and I didn't have any weapon. I waited and then a voice came from the shadows. It said that I couldn't get away, I was his prey and…and I was going to die by his hand."

She became silent once again and Roy had an intense look in his eye. _"This isn't good. Not many things on this earth could frighten Riza and if this had this much of an effect on her then it must be serious. Damn, I can't wait to get my hands on this bastard. His ashes are gonna have ashes when I'm through with him." _He thought angrily.

Riza continued, "Then he lifted his arm and he had my gun and it was aimed at my heart. I can't seem to get rid of the image of his eyes though…they were a bright violet and he had this maniacle grin that sent chills up my spine. He moved the gun to my face and told me no one could save me and to say goodbye. That's when I screamed and woke up. Dammit, I felt useless." She said dejectedly, her head in her hands.

"Now you know how I feel when it's raining." He made an attempt at cheering her up and it nearly worked, she lifted her head and almost smiled rolling her eyes.

"That's not really helping Roy. Thanks for trying though."

Roy became serious again, "Sorry, I couldn't resist the temptation to tease you. I was only trying to cheer you up. Anyways, back to business. Do you think this has anything to do with the person who destroyed your house?"

She shrugged, "I'm not sure, but I have a feeling it does."

"I think you're right. Grrrr…this is starting to get complicated. When we get to work, we'll get the guys to help us investigate your house."

Riza sighed, "This is going to be a long day."

"Yeah, it will and I hate long days." He said with a yawn. Riza looked up and finally registered that he didn't have his eyepatch on. A jagged scar lay across his permanently shut eyelid.

Roy caught her look and turned away, "Please don't look, it must disgust you."

She frowned, "AsI recall, I was the one who treated it when you were still in the hospital. You wouldn't let any of the nurses in to do it. It didn't bother me then and it doesn't bother me now."

The arm that was cradling her form tightened around her and pulled her closer. She blushed at the contact, she knew it was a distinct breech of protocol, but she didn't care. She was enjoying the warmth he provided.

"How was I able to gain such a faithful subordinate?" Riza's heart plummeted and she turned away.

_"All these years and he still thinks of me as a subordinate. It was stupid to let my guard down."_ She thought angrily.

Roy noticed her silence, "Hey, is something wrong?"

"Nothing, we should try and get some sleep while we still can. We do have to go to work tomorrow." Hayate jumped off of her lap as she manuvered herself out of Roy's embrace.

He nodded and stood up, but he did not leave. Instead, he gazed at her intently, "Are you sure you're alright Riza? You seem a little tense."

'You think?' she thought sarcasticly. "I'll be fine, all I need is some sleep. Good night Roy." Her icy tone did not escape his notice. He frowned slightly, but decided to ignore it.

"Alright, but if you need anything you know where to find me. Good night Riza." He left her alone. Once he was gone, she plunked herself down on the couch and rested her head in her hands.

Black Hayate was concerned about his master and rested his head in her lap for comfort. She smiled affectionately at the dog.

"Thanks Hayate, I was a fool to let this happen. I should have guarded my heart. Come on, let's try to get some sleep."

She laid back down once again and tried to fall asleep.

Roy's Room:

Roy was having his own problems trying to fall back asleep. He was worried about Riza and he was thinking about what he was going to do.

_"Damn, this really is starting to get complicated. What am I going to do?"_

He turned his head, looking at the clock, and groaned. It was 4:30 in the morning. There was no way he was going to get back to sleep now.

Sighing deeply, he got up and went over to his desk. He flipped on the light and pulled out a clean sheet of paper. Picking up his pen, he began to write.

A little while later, his door opened.

He looked up in sruprise and saw Hayate. He smiled at the happy canine.

Roy stopped writing, "Hey boy, did you run away from Riza?"

"As a matter of fact, he did." He raised his head and found Riza standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"Can't sleep either huh?" he said, leaning back into his chair and smirking. His eyepatch was now in place over his left eye.

She shook her head and walked into the room. She sat down on the edge of his bed. Roy resumed his writing, "There are some books in my bedstand, feel free to read them if you're bored."

Riza turned her head, gazing at his bedside table. A few thick tomes were neatly arranged beside a few pictures. She reached over and pulled out a dark green one and flipped through it.

Sighing, she replaced the book and turned to gaze inquizitivly at Roy, "What are you working on? I know its not paperwork, you would never do that willingly."

"I'm writing a letter to my mother. I haven't written to her for a few years. There, I'm done." He said and he began to fold the letter and placed it in an envelope.

"Exactly how long has it been since you actually talked to your mother in person Roy?" she asked raising and eyebrow.

He laughed nervously, "…I think it's been nearly seven years since I've actually spoken to her in person."

Her face was stoic, "Not a momma's boy huh?"

Roy groaned, "I have never been a momma's boy Riza. You know that, we've known each other since we were children. I just haven't talked to her for a while."

"You should go visit her sometime in the future, give her a surprise. I bet she's lonely." She suggested. She stood up and picked up Hayate.

He sighed, "You're right, I should go visit her sometime. After this fiasco is all over I mean."

Riza smiled, "Good, you should talk to your mother once in a while. Well, there's no use in trying to go to sleep now, it's almost time to go to work."

He looked at the clock in surprise and saw that it was 5:30 and they had to go into work at seven.

"Do you have anything edible in this house for breakfast?" she asked.

Roy laughed and stood up, "Are you kidding? My cooking skills are without a doubt top notch. What would the lady like for breakfast?" he said with a fake french accent and a flourish.

She grinned innocently, "That would depend on what you can cook."

Roy quickly wilted, "Come on, give me some credit Riza. I can make damn good pancakes. Good bacon too now that you mention it."

She sighed, "Pancakes and bacon sounds fine. I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday."

He stared at her, "Wha? ...Oh yeah, you just got home and then you came over here. Sorry, how do you like your eggs?" he asked as he led her into the kitchen.

She smiled and sat down at the table, "Sunny side up if you don't mind."

He grinned, "Coming right up."

Roy began to gather the things he would need to make their breakfast. Hayate was scratching at the door, wanting to go out. She stood up and walked over to the back door and unlocked it.

The sun was just beginning to make its way into the sky when she stepped out onto the wooden steps that led into the yard. Almost immediately, she felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle. She was being watched again.

Her sharp amber eyes scanned the surrounding area, looking for a glimpse of something. As she did so, two violet orbs made themselves known. She pulled out a concealed gun and shot in between the two haunting orbs. She let off a few rounds but she knew that her pursuer had escaped.

Hayate had already run back inside and now came out with a wildly concerned Roy. He ran over to her and touched her shoulder, "Are you alright? What happened? I heard gunfire."

Her expression was grim, "Nothing and I'm fine. It was the guy from my nightmare. I let off a few rounds at him."

Roy quickly became angry, "That bastard was here?! Dammit!"

Riza placed her hand on his to stop him from pulling out his ignition gloves, "Lets just go inside and eat. He's already gone anyways."

He was still angry, but he obeyed and they went back into the house.

"Hopefully that little escipade didn't dampen your appetite, cause your breakfast is ready and cooked to perfection." He said cheerily. Riza could see behind his mask and knew he was still quite angry.

"No, I'm still starving." She sat back down at the table and Roy placed a plate with pancakes, bacon and sunny-side up eggs.

She thanked him and he sat down opposite her and waited for her to take a bite.

Riza took a bite of her pancakes and she smiled with surprise. She looked up at Roy with a wide smile, "These are really good Roy. Where did you learn how to make them?"

He beamed and wagged his finger in front of her face, "Nope, I am not going to tell you. It's a secret family recipe."

She grinned, "Oh really? I see, well, it is very good Roy. Some of the best I've had for a while."

Roy was beaming as he dug into his own food.

Otp: That took a while for me to type. I hope everyone liked it

Roy: 'laughing' I do make damn good pancakes

Riza: Only by your standards Roy

Lemming: XD Burn!

Roy: Hey, what's that supposed to mean?

Otp: Never you mind. Right now we're out of time and i would love to have some reviews! Yay! Hope you liked and please R&R!! I luv you all!!


	3. Investigations, Explosions, & Underwear

Otp: Hello again

RE-UPLOADED 10/12/08

Chapter 3 Investigations, Explosions, and Underwear

Roy and Riza had finished their breakfast and were now washing the dishes. Riza was drying and Roy was washing. Even with the most trivial things, they made a perfect team.

"Are you sure you don't know who is responsible for all this Riza?" Roy asked, handing her another plate to dry.

Riza took the plate and shook her head, "I honestly have no idea who it might be and if I did, I would have told you already." She held out her hand for another dish as she had finished the first one.

He frowned and turned to look at her, his gaze intense, "Do you think the homunculi are involved?"

Her gaze faltered, she hadn't thought of that as a possibility. She thought for a minute then shook her head, "No, I don't think they are the ones behind this. The Elric's disposed of 5 of them and you dispatched two more and from what Edward told us, there was only seven. They are gone and I don't think they will be coming back anytime soon."

Roy was still frowning, "True, but you never know and it's better to be safe than sorry. Here, let me finish this up and you can go get dressed." He took the towel she was using and pulled out another dish and began to dry it.

Riza looked as if she was going to argue, but she nodded and left him to get her things.

Hayate was sitting next to him on the floor, wagging his tail with an expectant expression. Roy looked down and grinned. He dried the last dish and dried his hands. He knelt down and scratched the dog behind the ears, "Can I trust you to protect your master from this creep who's after her Hayate? We can't let anything happen to her."

Hayate barked in agreement and Roy stood up. He walked down the hallway to his bedroom to change. He closed the door and pulled on a clean, white dress shirt over his undershirt. Going over to his closet, he pulled out a fresh uniform. he pulled on his pants and shrugged on the jacket.

Roy then sat on the end of his bed and pulled on his boots. After that, he opened his door and walked out.

Riza had finished changing and was now sitting on the couch, waiting for Roy to return.

"_Bring Bring!!"_ she jumped at the sound of the phone and hastily picked it up.

"Hawkeye speaking."

_"Hey Riza, it's Maes. I'm at your house right now with the rest of the gang. We just got here and we're waiting for you so we don't have to smash the door down." _ Maes' tone was serious.

"Good, the Colonel and I shall be there momentarily, he's…"

Roy waltzed into the room and grabbed the phone, "That you Maes?"

_"Of course it is, who else would it be? I'm at Riza's place right now so get your butt down here."_

Roy sighed, "Calm down, we're on our way now. See you there." Then he hung up the phone and turned to Riza.

"Are you ready to go?"

She nodded and picked up Hayate, who started to squirm in her hands. Roy smiled, "You can leave him here if you want. It would be much easier that way."

Riza smiled back, "Thank you Roy, are you sure you don't mind?"

He laughed and walked to the door and grabbed their coats, "If you are going to be staying here anyways it won't really matter now will it?"

"No, I guess it wouldn't." she took her coat from him and watched as he de-alchemitized the door. When that was done he undid the locks.

He cautiously stepped out onto the porch and scrutinized his surroundings with his eye. Seeing no immediate danger he turned back to Riza, who stood in the doorway with her hand behind her. Roy knew it was on her gun and she was ready to pull it out at a moments notice.

"It's clear, you can come out." She slowly walked out and her eyes roved around and Roy locked the door again.

They started to walk down the path and Roy watched her with his good eye. She was tense and her eyes were darting left and right as if searching for something. "Do you see anything Riza?"

Her eyes turned to him, "No, but I still have a feint feeling of being watched."

Roy frowned at this news and covertly slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled on his ignition gloves. "Let's hurry and get to your house before something happens."

She nodded and they quickened their pace.

Soon enough, they had arrived at her house to find it surrounded by MP's. They saw Maes running up to them, "Way to take your time you two. Come on, we have to start investigating."

Roy and Riza followed Maes to the front of her house and Roy asked, "Besides us, who is helping us investigate? Is it going to be some of those MP's?"

Maes laughed, "No, the MP's are only here to secure the area and crowd control. I brought better people for the investigation part. Besides, I don't think Riza wants anyone she doesn't know to be going through her things."

"Quite right, I don't want some nameless man rooting through my personal items. Where are the others, you said they were here with you?" she said firmly, looking around.

"We're right here chief." Havoc said as he walked up to them with Breda, Falman, and Fuery close behind him.

Roy was satisfied with the arrangement and began to converse with Maes while the others guestioned Riza.

"Was your house really broken into Lt.?" Fuery asked.

Riza smiled at his concern, "Yes, Fuery. My house was broken into and nearly everything was destroyed."

Havoc laughed, "Who in their right mind would dare break into the 'Ice Queen's' house?"

Riza glared at Havoc, "Indeed, who." He quickly backed off.

"Did they take anything?" Breda asked.

She shook her head, "No, nothing was stolen. Everything was just broken."

"Hey, get over here! We haven't got all day to just stand around and talk. We have to get this done." Roy called down to them from Riza's porch. They hastily joined Roy and Maes.

Maes turned to Riza, "Can you open the door please?" Riza strode forward and pulled out a key. She then opened the door.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they gazed upon the horror within. The whole house seemed to be immaculate. Nothing seemed to be out of place and it was completely spottless.

Riza stepped forward and looked around in shock, 'This can't be…it wasn't like this last night…I know it…'

"Didn't you say that your house was in shambles Lt.?" Falman asked as they stepped inside.

Riza nodded, "Yes, and I'm sure it wasn't like this when I left last night. But how could someone clean it in such a short amount of time and make it look as if nothing happened?"

Roy walked towards the bookshelf and pulled out a book, he had a theory and he was going to see if he was right. He opened the book and the others watched him intently.

He held up the book for them to see. It was blank, "I have a theory about what happened and I think I just confirmed it. Hawkeye, did this book have anything written in it before?"

Riza frowned and walked over to join Roy. Taking the book and looking at the cover she nodded, "Yes, this was one of my favorite books. Why do you ask sir?"

Taking the book back, he explained, "There are two things that could have been done to explain this. One of them being replacing the books with blank copies, but to do that you would have to know what the books were and get an exact copy of the cover and that might have taken a while to do. The second theory is using alchemy. You cannot transmute words in a book unless you know what it said. That might be the case and along with that, there are minute signs of alchemy present."

Almost everyone in the room were confused by what he had said and were looking dumbly at Roy. He glared at them, "What are you all just standing there for? Spread out and see what else you can find." He ordered.

They all quickly rushed off to search the house. Breda and Havoc were investigating the kitchen, Falman and Fuery were in the living room. Maes was left with the interesting job of looking through the bathroom and laundry room. Riza and Roy were in her bedroom.

Roy was searching near the drawers next to the closet. Riza was on the other side of the room and she was down on her hands and knees looking under her bed.

It puzzled her to no end how the culprit had managed to clean up without a trace of what she had seen the night before. She was also beginning to get annoyed by this person, she knew he was just playing with her and she didn't want to think about what might happen if and when he caught her.

Riza was torn between being angry and being thankful for Roy stepping forward to explain a few things. It had saved her from the embarassment of looking like a fool in front of her co-workers, but when he did that it made her look even worse.

Sighing, she pulled herself out from under the bed and she stood up. Her eyes widened when she saw what Roy was doing.

"Roy, get your hands out of my underwear drawer before I shoot you." She said icily. She was blushing furiously from anger or embarassment she didn't know.

Roy wheeled around and laughed nervously, all the while disposing of the article in his hands back into the drawer. "Hehehe……sorry bout that Riza. Did you find anything? I found a few traces of alchemy here and there."

She rolled her eyes, "Don't try to change the subject Roy and no, I didn't find anything."

"Since when were you two on a first-name basis?" Maes was standing in the doorway with a huge grin plastered on his face. At this comment Riza and Roy both began to blush.

Riza was the first to recover, "It doesn't matter at the moment. Did you find anything? The only thing we could find were small traces of alchemy."

Maes was still grinning when he answered, "Nothing, but I wonder if the guys did any better. Let's go find out shall we?" Riza nodded and followed Maes out into the hallway.

Roy was still standing by the drawer and he slowly reached out to open it again, "Roy, don't even think about it or I'll make you wear another eyepatch."

He gulped at the threat in Riza's voice and took one last look at the drawer and quickly vacated.

Maes was giving them both a questioning look, "What was that about?"

"Oh, nothing, the Colonel just got distracted by my underwear drawer." Riza said forcefully.

He started to laugh and Falman and Fuery came running towards them with a piece of paper in their hands, "We found something! But we don't know what it means!"

Roy took it out of Fuery's hands and opened it. Breda and Havoc walked in while he was reading it.

His eye widened and he crumpled it up and yelled, "Dammit! Everyone get out of here now!!"

They all caught onto the panic in his voice and they ran for the door. They got halfway down the path before the explosion knocked them off their feet.

Debri flew in every direction as Riza's house exploded in a cloud of smoke and flame. The whole area was silent for the next few seconds other than the crackling of fire and falling debri.

Riza sat up, coughing and looking at the place where her house once stood. Nothing was left of it. She coughed a few more times and looked around for her friends. She yelped as a pair of hands grabbed her arm. Looking down she saw Roy. He too was coughing and she pulled him to her feet.

"Are you alright Roy?" she asked worridly.

Roy coughed once more, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Is anyone hurt?"

She shook her head, "I don't know. Where is everybody?"

They began to look around and they soon found Maes and the others. The MP's were helping other people caught in the explosion and they were calling for medical assistance.

"Damn, that was a little too close for my liking." Maes said, rubbing the back of his head.

Havoc was wiping off his uniform, "What the hell happened?"

Breda was helping Fuery to his feet, "If this was some kind of joke they have the wrong idea."

"It was a bomb of some sort and their target was me." Riza said quietly. 'Dammit, why were they involved? This guy is really starting to piss me off if he thinks he's going to get away with hurting my friends he's sorely mistaken.'

"This person has one hell of a grudge against you Hawkeye. I can't wait to turn him into ash." Roy said scathingly. Riza and everyone else turned to gaze at Roy with surprise mixed with fear. They had never seen him like this before.

"Woah, calm down Roy. We'll catch this creep ok? You don't need to get angry." Maes said in an attempt to calm Roy's fury.

Roy's blood was boiling, "How can you not be angry? This guy tried to kill us and is stalking one of my subordinates!"

Maes reprimanded him firmly, "We can't get to the bottom of this if you're angry. You will rush into things without thinking. Now, calm down and let's think."

"You told us to get out when you read that piece of paper you stuffed into your pocket and we don't know what it said so let's head back to Central HQ so we can discuss it. This isn't exactly the best place for this matter." Riza said firmly.

Roy calmed down slightly at her comment, "Fine, we're going to HQ. We'll figure out what to do when we get there."

Everyone nodded and followed Roy down the road that led to HQ.

A shadow was perched on a ledge overlooking the scene and he smiled after the little group, _"You have fallen into my trap my little bird. It won't be long before you are in a cage where you belong. All I have to do is wait for the right opportunity." _He smirked and disappeared.

Otp: Well, I hope everyone likes it

Riza: My house……

Roy: Don't worry Riza, you can live with me

Riza: No way and I still remember what you did with my underwear.

Roy: 'sweats nervously'

Otp: Anyways, I hope everyone reviews yay. Until next time pplz!


	4. Notes, Shopping, & Miniskirts

Otp: It's going to take me forever to type this hapter

RE-UPLOADED 10/12/08

Chapter 4 Notes, Shopping, and Miniskirts

They made it to HQ without incident and made their way silently to Roy's office. They hurried inside and Riza shut the door behind them and locked it. Then, she turned to join them by Roy's desk.

Roy walked over and sat down after he had placed his coat on the coat rack by the door. Everyone watched in anticipation as he pulled the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and set it on the desk.

He gazed intently at the group, "Ready?"

Maes groaned, "Just open it already, you're killing us here." Roy nodded and unfolded the letter.

"Alright, calm down, I'll read it outloud: Tick-tock tick-tock, your time is running out; at 8 o'clock, you'd better get out or you might find yourself minus a thing or two."

Roy finished the letter, tossing it onto the desk with disgust and no one said a word. Roy swiveled in his chair and faced the window. 'There is no way I'm going to let this guy get away with this. He will never come within 10 miles of Riza, not while I'm around.' He thought vehemently.

"There wasn't any signature?" Maes asked, picking up the paper and examining it more thoroughly.

Roy sighed, "No, so we can't link anyone to this attack and without any leads we don't have a chance of catching the guy."

"Nor can we know why he's targeting me." Riza said with a frown.

Havoc took a drag on his cig, "So, we're at a dead end huh? What are we going to do?"

"Since we have no evidence and we have no idea how to find this guy, waiting for him to show up again is the only thing we can do." Riza said, looking out the window.

"Hawkeye's right, we can't do anything without more evidence," Roy spun his chair around and glanced at Riza. "Since you are his target, you are not to go anywhere unaccompanied. Do you understand Hawkeye?" he said in a stern tone.

Everyone's eyes moved to look at Riza. She was frowning and she obviously did not like the idea of being watched by another person when she already had a stalker.

"Sir, I don't think that's really necessary…" she protested.

"It is and you will not argue about it. I will not stand idly by while someone threatens my staff." Roy commanded.

He was staring her down and she was starting to get lost in his dark eye. She looked away, "Yes sir, but what about my house and my possessions? They were all destroyed. I was thinking about grabbing a few of my belongings when we went back and now I don't believe that's possible. What am I supossed to do about that?"

Before Roy could say anything, there was a knock at the door. Falman was the closest to the door and he opened it. A soldier held out a letter, "For Colonel Mustang sir."

Falman nodded and closed the door after he took the letter. Roy got up and walked over to him and Falman handed him the letter.

He ripped it open and unfolded the letter inside. He frowned and crumpled up the paper with a curse. "Dammit, I completely forgot about the Alchemy Exams."

Maes frowned, "What do you mean Roy?"

Roy tossed the letter up and snapped. It immediately began to flame and soon fell to the ground as ashes.

Riza was frowning as she looked at the floor where the ashes lay. She glared at Roy, "I am not cleaning that up sir."

"I'll clean it up later Hawkeye, right now we have more important matters to attend to than a dirty floor. The alchemy exams are in two days and I must attend." He said rubbing his forehead in frustration. Riza and Maes were also frowning, this definately complicated things.

"Great, now we have a whole new problem to complicate things even more." Breda grumbled. The others agreed and gazed at Roy for an answer.

Roy glanced at Maes for help, "You have any ideas Maes? I have so much information in my brain that I might explode if I have to think about anything else."

Maes scratched his chin, "Hmmm, the only thing I can think of is a trap. Something tells me that this guy is going to appear at some point of the examination. We just have to make sure that he doesn't get that far and attack."

"We'll just have to be extra careful during that time. The security is going to be tight enough that day and I don't think anyone would try anything with that many people present." Riza said calmly.

Sighing, Roy sat back down in his chair. "We don't want to make a scene so we have to keep our eyes open. I expect all of you to be present and can someone find me the list of the participants for this and bring them to me for an interview tomorrow?"

They saluted and left the room to look for the file while Riza and Maes stayed behind. Roy glanced at Maes and he closed and locked the door.

Riza was confused, "May I ask what is going on sir?"

Roy was silent and Maes was starting to smile. He had a plan and it was about time he put it into action. He turned to Riza, "We need to discuss what we are going to do about your house and your personal belongings. I have a suggestion if you would like to hear it."

Riza's eyes narrowed in suspiscion, "What suggestion?"

By this time Roy was also curious as to what Maes was plotting and he too was gazing intently at him as well.

Maes was grinning, "You could go shopping?"

"I was already thinking about doing that after work. Thank you for the suggestion though, but I have work to do." She said, going over and sitting at her desk.

He groaned, "Take a break Riza, all you think about is work. I'm sure Roy would let you leave early so you can go buy some clothes. Besides, the paperwork can wait, I don't think its going to go anywhere."

Riza glared at him, "I would but I was ordered to not go anywhere without an escort." She frowned at Roy for emphasis.

He grumbled looked away and worked on paperwork, "It's for your own safety you know that."

Maes laughed, "I almost forgot about that," he beamed at Roy. "But, I know somebody who wouldn't mind getting out of work to escort you…"

"You mean me Maes?" Roy asked with a sigh, putting down his pen.

"Yup, and I'm sure you don't mind escorting Riza do you Roy?" he was grinning so much his face might have broken from the strain.

He smiled, "Of course not. Riza, why don't you grab your coat and we shall leave."

She sighed in defeat as the two smirking men looked expectantly at her, "Fine, give me two minutes." She stood up and began to gather her things.

Maes gave Roy a thumbs up and a wink, "Well, now that that's settled, I have to get back to work. Have fun you two and don't do anything stupid Roy." Roy twitched as his friend walked out the door.

'Damn him and his schemes that always seem to work.' He thought, standing up. Riza was already waiting by the door with his coat.

He smiled, "Where would you like to go first Riza?"

She shrugged, "It doesn't really matter, anywhere I can get clothes will be fine." She handed him his coat and they walked out the door together.

Their subordinates looked up as they entered the room and grinned. Havoc waved, "Have a good time." Roy and Riza nodded and headed out the door but not before they heard Havoc's closing comment. "Who wants to bet that they hook up in a week?"

Roy sighed and looked at Riza with a small smile, "They're betting about us again."

Riza rolled her eyes, "Boys will be boys." And she turned around and headed down the hallway. Roy grinned and followed after her.

Two Hours Later:

Riza had purchased some clothes and other necessaties at local stores and she was all set. Now, they were sitting in a café taking a break. Roy had ordered coffee and Riza was sipping hot tea.

"That's all I need for the time being. Do we need to go anywhere else?" she asked.

"We have to get a few groceries and some cleaning supplies before we go back to the house." Roy said leaning back into his chair.

She looked at him confused, "Cleaning supplies?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I thought we might take this time to clean out the spare room. I wouldn't like to make you sleep on the couch while your staying with me."

Riza took another sip of her tea, "I see and in what condition is this spare room of yours?"

Roy laughed nervously, "Well, I took a peek inside this morning and I think I can label it as a bio-hazard."

Riza gave him a skeptical look, "Is it really that bad?"

"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if we needed full-body suits to go in there." He said downing his cup of coffee. He stood up and slapped some money onto the table. "We had better get going though if we want to finish everything by dinner time. You ready to go?"

"Yes." She took one last sip of her tea and set the cup down on the table. Then, she picked up some of the bags that were sitting at her feet. Roy grabbed the two that were next to him.

They left the café and made their way down the street. Riza turned, "Where are we going to go for the groceries and the cleaning supplies?"

"There's a convenience store just around the corner from my place. We can stop there and get what we need and it won't be too far to walk to my house." He said with a smile.

She was silent after that and Roy glanced sideways, examining the woman next to him. 'I wish I knew more about her…' he thought sadly.

He had known her since they were kids and he still didn't know much about her. He had known Maes for the same amount of time and he knew nearly everything about the man. He and Riza were the only people who knew him better than anyone else. But when it came to Riza, he knew next to nothing about her.

Riza noticed him looking at her and frowned, "Are you alright Roy? You seem to be troubled by something."

He put on a smile for her, "Oh, it's nothing, you don't need to worry about it. Besides, we're here." He stopped in front of a small store.

She was still frowning for she could tell his smile didn't reach his eyes. 'Something's bothering him…' she thought. Deciding to ignore it for the time being, she followed Roy into the store.

They asked if they could place their bags behind the counter while they shopped and the lady at the counter nodded. They deposited their bags and spread out to find the things that they were going to need.

Roy went to the cleaning supply aisle and picked out two pairs of gloves, masks, sponges, a large bucket, some cheap towels, and assorted cleaners. He left Riza to get the groceries, he knew she would know what to get.

Soon enough, they met back at the counter and made their purchases. They grabbed the bags they had dropped off earlier and headed out the door.

They walked one more block and made it back to Roy's house without incident. Both of them could hear Hayate barking furiously through the door.

Roy was fumbling around with his keys while balancing the bags at the same time. Riza was watching the scene with amusement.

"Damn!" he cursed when he dropped the keys and Riza laughed. He grumbled some more as he bent down to pick them up.

Riza came to his rescue and knelt down, picking up the keys with a smile. "You know, it's easier if you put the bags down first." She opened the door with ease and Hayate bolted out.

He ran into the already unbalanced Roy, knocking him to the ground. The bags went flying and Hayate continued on without pausing out into the yard.

By now, Riza was leaning against the doorframe, trembling with mirth.

Roy was still lying on the ground with a shocked expression. He heard Riza laughing and frowned, "You can stop laughing now and help me up Riza."

Riza was still smiling, "Sorry about that Roy, but it was quite funny from where I'm standing." She said kneeling next to him with a mischievious glint in her eyes.

He glared at her, "From where I'm sitting, I see it differently. Now, can you please help me up?" she rolled her eyes and held out a hand. He took it and she pulled him to his feet.

"We should get these things inside so we can start working on that bio-hazard room of yours." She suggested, picking up some of the discarded bags and walking back into the house.

Even Hayate had grabbed a bag and was pulling it into the house. Roy sighed happily and picked up the remaining bags and followed them inside. He closed the door and set the bags next to it. He walked into the kitchen and found Riza making some tea.

"I'm going to see if I can find something for you to wear so you don't have to worry about getting your new things dirty." He stated. She nodded in acknowledgment and he left the room to search for something that would fit her.

Riza went to the bags after she had put the kettle on the stove to boil. She dragged them back into the kitchen and began to unload the groceries and put them away. She left her new clothes and the cleaning supplies in the hallway.

Roy was digging through his closet searching in vain for something that would fit Riza. So far he wasn't having very much luck. He had found _something_, but he wasn't willing to sacrifice his life for it. He had found one of his demo-miniskirts.

He knew she wasn't going to like it and he sighed. He looked around the house a few more times before he found anything else. He had a choice now, whether he gave Riza the miniskirt or gave her his old gym shorts.

He decided to take a chance and walked out of his room to show Riza his choices.

She was sitting at the table in the kitchen with Hayate sitting on her lap. She looked up when he came into the room. "Did you find anything Roy?"

"I found something but I don't think you're going to like it very much." He smirked and pulled out the miniskirt. "It was the only thing I could find that would fit you."

She was already glaring at him and he was surprised that she hadn't already let loose a few bullets in his direction.

"There is no way I am going to wear those Roy. Find something else." She said firmly. He sighed.

"Unless you're willing to wear some of my old gym shorts then you're just gonna have to settle for the skirt."

"How short are the shorts?" she asked.

He grinned, "They're longer than the skirt."

Riza's eyes narrowed and she stood up, "Show me these shorts and then I'll decide."

Roy nodded and led her to his room where he picked up the shorts that were lying on the bed, "Here, are these better?" he held them up for her to see.

They were dark blue with a faded Monarchs logo on them.(AN: That is my high school logo by the way) she took them from him and examined them.

Roy was looking in his drawers for something he could wear, "They're from when I was in high school. Don't ask why I still have them, even that is a mystery to me. Do they work for you Riza?"

He turned to see what her answer was. Riza was still holding up the shorts and she sighed, "It's better than the miniskirt. Do you have a shirt I could use?"

"Sure, catch." He tossed an old white t-shirt to her, "You can use that for now. Go change and I'll meet you back in the kitchen."

She nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her with a click.

"Damn, she didn't wear the miniskirt…"

"Not even in your dreams Mustang." Came Riza's voice from the other side of the door.

Roy fell off the bed in surprise. He looked at the door in shock, 'Damn, how the hell does she do that?'

On the other side of the door, Riza was smiling softly at his reaction and she made her way towards the bathroom to change.

Roy Mustang's Office:

"Hey, did anyone find the list of participants for the Alchemy exam yet?" Havoc asked when he walked into the room.

Fuery held out a piece of paper, "Here it is sir."

Havoc took it and read outloud the list, "Let's see…only five participants this year. Raymond Shurk, Soren Quan, Atlas Beckett, Rube Thrift, and _Grahm Aushwitz._"

Otp: Ok that thing took forever for me to write and type

Riza: But you finished it

Otp: Yes

Roy: then what is there to worry about?

Otp: Nevermind, I hope everyone likes the chapter and I need to know. Which story whould I finish first? Hunted or a Diamond in the Rough?

Please tell me what you think in a review or a PM k thanks for reading!!


	5. Windows, Sponges, and a Phone Call

Otp: Well I'm back again! And this chapter is for my frind Malicious Alchemist for it is her birthday!

Mals: Yay!

Otp: alright now that I am short on time here, I'm going to do the review responses. Thank you to:

MoonStarDuchess

Lady Lola Laflaunda

Lordlemming

Kyorma

Dreximgirl

Night alchemist

Winglessfairy25

Kay12693

Aqua-eyed mystery520

Smile for me

Kimi….the grate one!

Lady Kanameko

Fallenangelescence23

Otp: Thank you all for your support it is much appreciated. Now onto the next chapter 'runs off with arms in the air singing the batman theme'

Chapter 5 Windows, Sponges, and a Phone Call  
Roy walked into the kitchen and stared at Riza. She was sitting down at the table, legs crossed, with a cup of tea. She was reading a book and she had yet to notice that Roy had come into the room.  
'I knew she had nice legs…' he thought. The shorts she was wearing were knee length and the shirt was a little big for her. Looking down at his own clothes, he frowned. 'Not the best choice of clothes but they will have to do.'  
He was wearing ripped, black jeans and a semi-tight shirt.  
"Is there any particular reason as to why you're staring at me Roy?" Roy looked up to find Riza watching him over the top of her book.   
Roy walked over and sat down next to her, "It's been a while since I've seen you in anything but a uniform. I guess it still surprises me to see you like this."  
She marked the page in her book and set it down next to her cup of tea, "It's not really that much of a surprise. I don't have to wear a uniform all the time." She said stoically.  
He mentally kicked himself for his comment, 'Damn, I had to make it sound as if she has no life outside of the military.' Roy quickly tried to rectify his mistake.  
"I didn't mean for it to come out like that Riza, I'm sorry." He said quietly, looking down at his feet.  
Riza knew he hadn't meant it that way and she stood up, "It doesn't matter, we have to get started on the room. Where is it?"  
Roy was still feeling guilty about his comment, but he smiled at her, "It's down the hall next to my bedroom. Why don't you head down there and I'll meet you there? I have to get the broom and the dust pan."  
She nodded and picked up the bags with their supplies and disappeared down the hallway. Roy stayed behind and began his search for the broom and dustpan. After a few minutes of digging through his pantry, he found them.  
Once he had found them, he headed down the hallway to join Riza in the guest room. He found Riza still standing in the doorway putting on one of the masks.  
She looked up as he entered and tossed him the second mask, "There's so much dust in there we could suffocate. How did you manage to let it get this bad?" she asked taking the broom from Roy.  
Roy shrugged, "I don't know but lets get this over with. This is going to take us all afternoon to finish." He said, pulling on the mask.  
Together they attacked the room and soon enough, they had all surfaces in the room clean. Now, they were coughing even though they had masks on. There was a massive cloud of dust culminating in the middle of the room making it hard to breathe.  
He cursed, "Damn, we clean one thing and another problem arises!" he coughed.  
Riza coughed, "Can we open a window?" Roy walked over to the window and pushed. Nothing happened and the window wouldn't budge. Roy rolled up his sleeves and threw his whole weight against the window.

After that things went by very fast. First, the window opened and a light breeze made its way into the room. Roy wasn't expecting the window to give in so easily and he overdid it. He lost his balance and fell out of the window with a cry.

"Roy! Are you…" Riza had dashed over to the window the second Roy began to fall. Looking down, she began to laugh. Roy had fallen face first into a flowerbed. By now, her mask had been long forgotten and was dangling around her neck.

"Ugh…dammit…I think my nose is broken." He grumbled, slowly sitting up. His eyepatch was ascue and his mask was dented and his nose was starting to bleed.

Riza's laughter died instantly when she saw the blood running down his face and she leapt out the window and landed softly on the ground next to him.

"Move your hands so I can see it Roy." She ordered in a concerned tone. Roy slowly moved his hands away from his face so she could examine the damage. Riza brought her hands up to his face and scrutinized his nose with her sharp eyes.

Riza sat back, "It's not broken, just bruised a bit. Let me get you something to wipe the blood off of your face." She stood up and climbed back through the window.

Roy sat there with his fingers pinching his nose in an attempt to stop the bleeding. 'Why must I always look like an idiot in front of her?' he asked himself.

Soon enough, Riza jumped out the window again with a rag, "Here, has it stopped bleeding yet?" she asked, kneeling next to him. Roy took the rag and held it up to his nose.

"Nob Yeb." He said in a nasely tone. Riza chuckled at the sound of his voice.

"I guess well take a short break before we go back to work." She said, lying down on the grass next to him. She closed her eyes and brought her hands to use as pillows under her head.

They sat in companionable silence until Roy removed the rag to check on his nose, "It's stopped finally. Dammit, how many times have I fallen over today?" he asked in a frustrated voice.

"I've lost count and you cannot use this as an excuse to get out of work. Now, wipe the blood off of your face and we'll get back to cleaning." Once again, Riza was back to her no-nonsense node.

Roy sighed and gently wiped the blood off of his face, "Fine, don't pity me or anything when I'm in pain." He whined.

Riza sighed and stood up, "Stop whining and suck it up, you'll live. When you're finished cleaning up come back inside so we can finish up." she walked over to the window and climbed back inside.

She left Roy outside and picked up the bucket that was sitting by the door. 'I need to fill this with water. I think we'll start to wash the floors now that we have the dust cleared out.' She thought.

Then she walked down the hallway to the kitchen so she could fill the bucket with warm water. While she was doing this, Roy was making his way back into the house. He walked towards the bathroom to see what the damage was and if he had missed any blood.

He cursed at his reflection, his nose was swollen and it was starting to turn black and blue.

"Damn, I can't wait to find out what Maes and the others are going to say when they find out about this." He grumbled to no one in particular.

"It's not that bad Roy. Besides, I'll make sure that nobody makes fun of you." Roy turned to find Riza standing in the doorway holding the bucket of water.

Roy smiled, "No worries then, with you around I'm sure no one would think twice about messing with you." He walked out of the bathroom and gently removed the bucket from her posession.

"I'll take that Riza."

Riza nodded and they headed back to her room. When they passes Roy's room, they saw Hayate curled up at the end of Roy's bed.

She frowned at this and made a move to remove him, but Roy stopped her, "It's alright Riza, I don't mind." He whipsered.

"But…are you sure it's alright?" she whispered back.

He sighed and held the bucket in one hand and he used his other to guide her out of the room.

"Come on, lets finish up the room and then we can have dinner." He said softly, setting the bucket down on the floor.

"Okay, lets get some gloves on and we can get started on washing the floor." She replied, tossing him a pair of gloves.

He looked at the gloves with disgust. His eye narrowed and he glared at Riza, "You have got to be kidding me, there is no way I'm going to wear these."

"Why not? They are perfectly good gloves." She said pulling on some blue gloves.

Roy shook the bright pink gloves at her, "They're pink! How can they be good?!" he protested.

She smirkedand said calmly, "Then why did you buy them? Surely you weren't expecting me to wear them."

That got him and he turned red, "…I'll wear them…" he said angrily. He pulled on the gloves with a grimace.

Riza smiled and began to mix some soap into the luke-warm water. "That's what I thought, now grab one of those sponges and start scrubbing."

Roy groaned but did asa he was told. He grabbed one of the sponges and handed one to Riza. They began to scrub the floors.

They were nearly finished when Roy decided to have some fun. He stealthily picked up his sponge and gazed at Riza's back with a sly smile.

He raised his arm and launchedit at her back. It hit her with a 'splat'.

She tensed and she whirled around to give him a death glare, "Roy, you are aware of my aim are you not?"

Roy smiled, "I do believe I am aw…"

"Splat!" the sponge hit him directly on the forehead with such a force that it knocked him to the ground.

"I couldn't hear you Roy, what were you going to say?" she said sweetly. She was laughing and then she was silenced by a sponge hitting her squarely in the face.

"Did that hit you? I'm so sorry Riza, I meant to aim for the bucket." He mocked with a smirk.

This sparked a war with sponges and soon the floor and nearly everything in the room was soaked. The room's two laughing occupants were slipping around on the floor trying to grab the sponge that hadn't been thrown out the window.

Roy grabbed the sponge and smirked at the soaking Riza Hawkeye in front of him, "Give up Riza, you know you can't beat me."

This comment didn't phase Riza in the least. Instead she smiled devilishly and picked up the bucket of dirty water, "Are you sure about that Roy?"

He blanched and tried to get away from but it was futile. Riza gave him a facefull of dirty water that soaked him to the bone.

Riza was laughing and Roy took his revenge. He leapt at her and she yelped in surprise as he pinned her to the wall. She was no longer laughing, insteadshe was blushing.

She took a staggered breath, "Roy…please let go…"

It was then that Roy realized the position they were in and how uncomfortable it made her. Roy immediately let her go and stepped back, "Forgive me Riza…I didn't mean to." He said softly.

There was a tense silence that was only broken by the sound of a phone. Riza jumped a the chance to get out of the room and she ran off to answer it.

"Hawkeye speaking."

An eerily familiar voice answered, "What a smart little bird you are Miss Hawkeye."

Otp: That's all for now

Roy: Who is the guy I want to strangle him

Riza: 'rolls her eyes' We will find out later

Roy: But I wanna burn him now……

Otp: Aaanyways….i hope you all liked this chapter I quite enjoyed writing it. Please review and give me some feedback I loves you all 'glomps'


	6. A Warning, Towels, and Discussion

Otp: This is one of the longest chapters I have ever written since the first chappy of What A Vacation

Riza: This might even be longer than 8 pages

Otp: Another thing about What a Vacation is I printed it outits 66 pages

Riza and Roy: OO Wow…………

Otp: Yeah….anyways, onto the review responses. Thank you:

Lordlemming

MoonStarDuchess

Kyorma

Blklnblupanther1

Dreximgirl

Lady Lola Laflaunda

Lady Kanameko

Ginsensu

Aqua-eyed mystery520

Kay12693

Malicious-Alchemist

Kimmi….the wonderfull

Fallenangelescence23

Otp: I thank you all for your support. Now onto the story!

Chapter 6 A Warning, Towels, and Discussion

"Who are you?" Riza asked cautiously. She recognized the voice from her nightmare.

"Never you mind, my little bird. I have a message for you." The voice croaked.

'Who the hell is this guy?' she wondered.

He continued, "My message is a warning, if you don't cooperate with my demands then someone will die."

He eyes widened in shock, "What do you mean?"

"If you don't do as I say, then I will be forced to kill one of your friends. Hmmm…now that I think about it, you're quite close to Colonel Mustang.I wonder what your reaction would be if I killed him." He laughed.

"Don't you dare touch him, he has nothing to do with this. You're fight is with me, so leave him out of it." She threatened maliciously.

Riza could almost see his smile as he said, "Seems like I hit a nerve with that. Good, now I know who to targetin case you disobey my orders. This has been an enlightening conversation and I wish you well. Enjoy your freedom, my little bird, you'll be in a cage soon enough." There was a click as he hung up the phone.

She cursed and slammed the phone down, "Dammit, he tricked me!" she slid down the wall and sat there thinking about what she had done.

'I've put Roy in danger…' she thought regretfully.

Roy had heard her curse and slam the phone down so he poked his head out of the room to check on her.

"Is something wrong Riza?" he asked. He frowned when he saw her slumped on the ground with her head in her hands.

Concerned, he walked over and knelt down in front of her, "What's wrong Riza?"

Riza shook her head, "It's nothing…forget about it. Let's just go back and finish up the room." She said, avoiding his gaze.

Roy frowned, something had definitely happened and she obviously didn't want to talk about it.

"Don't change the subject Riza, the room can wait, this is more important. Tell me what happened." he commanded in a firm tone.

"I'll tell you about it later Roy." She said in a soft voice.

He sighed in defeat, stood up and held out his hand to her, "It's no use trying to get it out of you now. Alright, we'll do the room first and then we'll have some dinner. After that, you can tell me what this is all about. Does that sound fair?"

She gave him a relieved smile and she took his hand, "That's fair, thank you Roy."

He smiled in return, "Your welcome, come on let's go finish up. after that we can take a shower and get some dinner started." He said as they walked back towards Riza's room.

Riza nodded and picked up a dry rag and began to help Roy dry the floors.

An hours later, they finished and were gathering the cleaning supplies. Riza was taking their supplies and the bucket of dirty water back to the kitchen. while she was doing that, Roy was digging around in the closet for some clean linen for the bed.

He found some light blue ones and began to put them on the bed. He was almost finished when Riza walked back into the room with the bags of clothes she had bought earlier.

She set them next to the dresser and went over to help Roy finish making the bed. When that was done, she began to put her things into the drawers.

Roy grinned, "We're finally done and I really want a shower." He said as he stretched.

Riza smiled in return, "I know what you mean. I could use a good shower too."

"You can take your shower first and I'll make some dinner for us." He suggested, standin by the door.

She shook her head, "No, you can go first and I'll get started on dinner. I already know what I'm going to make." She said, grinning.

His eyes widened, 'I wonder what she's making…' he thought. He decided to be patient and wait to find out.

"Alright, I'll come and get you when I'm finished." He said as he vacated the room.

She waited until she heard the bathroom door close before making her way out into the kitchen. Once she was there, she began to gather ingredients. She put a pot on the stove and started to make beef stew, Roy's favorite.

Black Hayate meandered into the room and sat down next to Riza's feet. He had caught a wiff of her delectable meal and he had come in to investigate. Now, he was was wagging his tail and begging for attention.

Riza looked down at the dog and scolded him, "Not yet Hayate, ill feed you in a few minutes. I have to finish this first."the dog whimpered at this and waited patiently.

Roy had gotten out of the shower and he had just remembered that he hadn't grabbed a change of clothes before he had tken his shower.

'Damn, that meansi have to go outside! What if Riza see's me?' he thought frantically, trying to decide what to do.

He finally made a decision and wrapped a towel around his wiast. He took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. (CUE THE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE MUSIC) he looked up and down the hallway making sure nobody was ther and he made his way stealthily towards his room.

When he wass within 2 feet of the door, he stopped. 'Is that beef stew?' he wondered, sniffing the air. Forgetting that he wasn't wearing anything other than a towel, he back tracked to the kitchen to investigate.

Riza was humming while she worked and she didn't notice Roy was there until he spoke, "Are you making beef stew?"

She jumped and wheeled around. Upon seeing Roy, her face became flushed and she almost dropped the ladel.

The Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang was standing behind her in nothing but a towel. Her mind went blank as she stared at his perfect body. (AN: SSSSSSSQQQQUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! 'thud')

She couldn't help but stare at him in awe, he was perfect. He smirked when he noticed that she was staring at him with her mouth open slightly. "Do you like what you see Riza?" he asked huskily.

Riza tore her eyes away from him and looked away blushing, "Sorry sir…I…I didn't realize you were finished." She said shakily.

This made Roy laugh and he wrapped his arms around her, "Come on Riza, you know you can't deny you like what you see." He whispered into her ear.

His breath on her ear sent shivers throughout her body and she blushed even more. A vien popped in her forhead and she pushed him away and glared at him, "GET SOME DAMN CLOTHES ON!" she said blushing furiously, threatening him with the ladel.

Roy only smiled, "Why do you want me to get some clothes on Riza?"

This time she threw the ladel in his face, "Just get some damn clothes on before you catch a chill…" she commanded in a deadly tone.

He put up his hands in defense, "Alright, alright, I'm going. Just don't kill me!" he pleaded as he disappeared down the hallway.

"By the way, it smells delicious." He said, poking his head back into the room.

She hurled another object at him, "Get out already!" he left and she fumed.

She leaned against the counter when he was gone and cursed herself. She wasn't supposed to be having these feelings for her superior officer.

'Damn him…this isn't good…' she thought. It took her a few moments to collect herself and regain control over her emotions. When she had composed herself she went in search of another ladel.

Roy walked back into the room, "There, I'm dressed. I can take care of the stew while you take a shower." He said as he took her place by the stove.

She frowned, she was still angry with him from earlier. "If you let it burn I will make sure you have so much paperwork it will take you a whole month to finish it." She threatened.

He gulped, "Right, now off you go." He said as he ushered her out of the kitchen.

Riza stopped in the hallway and turned to look at Roy, "May I use the clothes that I wore last night?"

"Of course, they're still sitting in the bathroom folded on the counter." He called over his shoulder in answer to her question.

She nodded and headed towards the bathroom. Roy grinned and began to stir the pot of beef stew. He felt something tug at his pant legs and looked down.

He found Hayate looking at him with the saddest little black eyes he had ever seen. It melted his heart and he bent down to give the little dog a pat on the head, "Hey Buraha, did your mommy feed you yet?" he asked sweetly.

Hayate barked in reply and ran over to his bowl and nudged it with his nose to Roy's feet.

This made him laugh and he picked up the bowl. He searched for the bag of dog food that Riza had bought earlier. He found it sitting dy the refridgerator and he ripped it open and used the scoop to fill the bowl.

"Here you go boy, enjoy." He said, setting the bowl on the floor in front of Hayate.

The dog eagerly dug in and Roy stood up to check on the stew. It smelled heavenly and he couldn't wait to taste it.

He got out two bowls and began to ladel the stew into them.

Riza was just finishing up her shower and now she was drying her hair. She was lost in her thoughts.

She was thinking about what she was going to do about her feelings for Roy. It was an all out battle btween her heart and her mind.

Her mind was telling her that it was wrong to feel these kinds of things for her superior officer. Her heart said that it didn't matter and that she should tell him.

'I'm temporarily living in his house, wearing his clothes, and to make matter worse I have seen him half naked. Besides that, everyone seems to think something is going on between us and I wonder why.' She thought sarcastically. Sighing, she got dressed and exited the bathroom.

Roy was just setting the bowls on the table when she came in.

He smiled, "Feel better now?"

She nodded and sat down at the table, "Much better, I see you managed to keep dinner burn free. What a surprise." She stated with a smile.

"Believe me, that's the last thing I wanted to do. It smelled so delectable that I did my best to make sure nothing happened." he said sitting down next to her. He picked up his spoon and began to eat with fervor.

Riza picked up her own spoon, "I'm glad you like it. I know it's your favorite."

Roy grinned, "No one can make a better beef stew than you Riza. Those two years in the north were torture wihtout your cooking."

"I'm flattered, I never knew you liked my food so much. I always thought it paled in comparison with Gracia's cooking." She said, taking a bite of her stew.

He shook his head, "No, I don't think so. You're cooking is superb and I'm getting seconds." Riza watched in amusement as Roy bounced out of his chair and refilled his bowl.

They had a fairly silent meal until the phone rang.

Riza's head shot up as roy stood up and picked up the phone, "Roy Mustang speaking."

_"Hiya Roy! How was shopping with Riza?"_ Maes asked excitedly.

"It was fine, now why did you call Maes?" Roy said in an annoyed tone. He glanced at Riza and smiled reassuringly. Riza relaxed, it was only Maes, not her stalker.

_"I called to tell you that we have the list of the participants that are going to be in the state alchemist exam."_ Maes grew serious.

"Who are they and can you bring them in for questioning tomorrow?" he asked. Riza watched him intently from the kitchen table.

_"There are only 5 competitors this year. Raymond Shurk, Soren Quan, Atlas Beckett, Rube Thrift, and Grahm Aushwitz. They all passed the oral and written exams with high scores. What time do you want them to come in tomorrow?"_

Roy thought for a moment, and then answered, "Around 10 o'clock if possible."

_"Alright then, I'll give them a call and ask them to come in. Have fun with Riza and don't go sneaking into her room while she's sleeping. See you tomorrow!"_ Maes said happily as he hung up.

Sighing, Roy set the phone down and came back to the table, "Tomorrow is starting to sound like one hell of a day. I have to do interviews."

Riza stood up and gathered the dishes, "Well, it can't be avoided and I'll help you with the interigations." Roy smiled and helped her with the dishes.

"I'm glad I have you to support me Riza. I don't know what I would do without you." He said as they began to wash the dishes.

"I don't know what you would do without me, considering your paperwok never seems to get done unless I make you." She said calmly.

She smiled triumphantly when he was silent. They finished the dishes and while Roy let Hayate out, Riza headed towards her temporary room to read.

Roy locked the doors and turned out the lights before knocking on Riza's door, "Hey Riza, you said you were going to tell me what happened on the phone today. Is now a good time?"

Riza had been sitting on her bed reading a book when she heard Roy's request. She stiffened, but she knew she had to tellhim sometime, "You can come in Roy."

He opened the door and walked in with Hayate trailing behind him, "are you sure you're ready to tell me?"

She set her book down and gazed into his dark eye, "I'm sure, and I'd rather you know anyways." Roy came over and sat down on the edge of the bed. Hayate jumped up after him and settled himself between them.

"Who was it?" he asked.

"It was my stalker." She said quietly.

Roy's eye narrowed considerably, "That baastard called here? Tht means…"

"Yes, he know's I'm here and he's following my every move." She said through gritted teeth.

"He threatened to kill our friends if I didn't obey his demands. He…," she paused and looked away. "He threatened to kill you and I couldn't live with myself if I put you in that sort of situation."

"I'm always in danger Riza, I do have a lot of people out to get me and none of this is your fault. You never asked for a stalker." He felt rage boiling within him. He was going to kill this basstard if it was the last thing he did.

"But, I still put you in danger and I'm supposed to protect you!" she protested.

Roy frowned and grabbed her shoulders, "You alredy have saved me on so many occasions Riza. There have been so many times that I might have died if it weren't for you. I want to help you and protect you for once." He said forcfully.

Riza was silent for a few moments and she then she spoke, "I don't need protection Roy, I can take care of myself." She said softly.

'Please Roy…understand that I can't put you in danger and this is only making it harder!' her mind pleaded.

"I know you can protect yourself, but it never hurts to accept someone's help. You know you can ask me to help you." He replied in a subdued tone. He got up and walked over to the wall on her right and pulled out a piece of chalk.

He drew a transmutation circle on the wall and pushed on it. A bright red light filled the room and when it disappeared a door had appeared.

Roy turned to give her a sad smile, "In case something happens, good night Riza and sweet dreams." He opened the door and walked into his room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Riza brought her hands to her face, 'I'm sorry Roy…I will not allow you to die because of me no matter what.' She thought and she turned out the light and went to sleep.

Otp: 'drools at the thought of Roy in only a towel'

Riza: 'speeachless'

Roy: 'shrugs' What? I can't help that I'm so sexy

Otp: 'drools' and tries to lunge at Roy' MINE!

Riza: 'snaps out of trance and points gun at Otp' STAY AWAY FROM MY MAN!!!!!!!!!

Otp: 'still drooling and still going after Roy'

Riza: 'becomes very scary and brings out a bazooka' I SAID STAY AWAY FROM MY MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

'loud booms and crashes follow' DUE TO THE GRAPHIC CONTENT OF THE FOLLOWING WE MAY NOT DESCRIBE IT

Roy: Ummmmmm…………….if you liked the chapter, please review and ignore the crazy fan girls.


	7. Comforting Embraces and Apples

Otp: Well, here I am with the next chapter of Hunted! After this I have to get to work on all of my other projects like my biology project, my history project, practicing for my concert on Tuesday…

Roy: Just get on with the fic, nobody cares whats going on in your life

Otp: 'pulls on Roy's ear and drags him out of the room'

Riza: 'sigh' While the author is occupied, I will thank the reviewers. Thank you:

Lady Kanameko

Lordlemming

MoonStarDuchess

Ginsensu

Automailjunkie44

Lady Lola Laflaunda

Kimi…the sexy

Winglessfairy25

Dreximgirl

Fallenangelescence23

-addie-LiVE-iN-LoVEx3-

Roy Mustang 08

Aqua-eyed mystery520

Kyorma

Kay12693

Blknblupanther1

Smile for me

Riza: Thank you very much for supporting this fic for it is much appreciated.

Chapter 7 Comforting Embraces and Apples

Riza slipped into an uneasy slumber and she was once again thrown into a nightmare.

Riza's Nightmare:

She was running down the same alley way as before, but this time was different. This time she was armed and she wasn't injured.

'This is going to get old really fast if I continue to have dreams like this all the time. I have to put a stop to this.' She thought and she stopped running and turned around to face her pursuer.

Riza glared into the darkness, "Let's stop playing this little game and tell me what the hell you want!" she demanded.

"You think this is a mere game my little bird? A pity, I thought you might have figured it out by now." The eerie laughter echoed off the walls of the alley way.

"I don't know and how could I know when I have no idea who the hell you are. You're too cryptic to even begin to make a guess. Now, tell me what you want." She commanded again.

He laughed again, "I want revenge for what you did to me all those years ago, isn't it obvious?"

This confused Riza considerably, "What do you mean? What have I done to make you want revenge?"

"You still don't remember I see, no matter. I will make you remember in time. Right now, I'm wondering what the Flame Alchemist means to you." He questioned.

Her eyes narrowed and she flinched, she didn't want to give him anymore reasons to hurt Roy. Unfortunately for her, he noticed her reaction.

"Hmmm, I was right. You are closer to him that anyone else. I wonder how he's doing right now." He pondered, smirking.

Riza brought up her gun and pointed it between the man's eyes, "What do you mean? What have you done to him?" she said, her voice shaking with unsupressed rage. She was having difficulty controling her temper and keeping her voice even.

The man's smirk only widened and he leaned forward, "I don't seem to remember…you might want to go check on him." He whispered into her ear.

Her world shattered when she heard those words and she fell into darkness and was consumed by her own fear.

Roy was still lying ontop of his bed thinking about Riza, when he heard something from Riza's room. He sat up and listened intently.

"No…not…him…please…" Riza's voice pleaded.

He was up in a flash and he threw open the door, "Riza?! Is…" he saw her curled up in a fetal position with her hands holding the sides of her head.

Black Hayate was whimpering and using his nose to nudge her shoulder in an attempt to awaken her. Roy rushed over to her side and shook her shoulder, "Riza! Wake up dammit!"

Her eyes shot open and she gasped when she saw Roy's worried face looming above her. She had a thin coat of sweat across her brow and Roy was extremely worried.

She looked into his scarred face and unbidden tears filled her eyes, "…You're alright…I was so worried." She said in a soft, shaky tone.

With that comment she flung herself into his arms and clung to his shirt, burying her head in his chest and sobbing.

Roy was surprised by her reaction, but he wrapped his arms around her and embraced her. He was confused by what she had just said and he was worried. Never, had he seen Riza Hawkeye cry.

'What's going on? Did she have another nightmare?' he wondered, looking down at the woman held tightly in his arms. He leaned back on the head board and pulled Riza closer to him.

His right hand kneaded comforting cicrles on her back and he whispered soothing words into her hair to calm her down. Black Hayate had made his way over to Roy's side and curled up beside him.

Soon enough, Riza's breathing became even and Roy smiled sadly, 'She cried herself to sleep…'

Roy moved to leave when he felt something grab his arm. He looked down to find Riza gazing at him with pleading eyes.

"Please…don't leave…" she said softly.

Roy smiled and took her into his arms again. Riza wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart. The sound calmed her and assured her that he was really alive.

'This is so wrong, I shouldn't be doing this….but…it feels so right being near him…' she thought as she fell asleep, safe in roy's arms. Roy soon followed her in slumber.

Morning:

Riza awoke to find sunlight streaming in through the window and birds singing. She threw off the covers and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She yawned, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up.

She paused when the memories of the night before began to worm their way back into her mind. 'Where did Roy and Hayate go?' she thought looking around the room.

Her door was wide open and so was the one that connected her room to Roy's. she quickly checked his room and made her way towards the kitchen.

There, she found Roy spreading some peanut butter on a piece of toast. He looked up when she came in and smiled, "Morning Riza, you want some toast? We can go into work a little later today since we have those interviews at 10." He said, holding up a plate of toast.

Riza smiled and sat down at the table, "toast would be nice."

Roy sauntered over and set the plate down in front of her, "What would you like on it?"

"Jam please." She replied and Roy set a knife and a jar of jam next to the plate of toast. She thanked him and she began to prepare her breakfast.

Black Hayate was sitting by her feet, waiting for something to fall on the floor. Roy pulled out two mugs and poured some hot water in themn and put some teabags in.

After that he brought the mugs over to the table and gave one to Riza and then sat down across from her.

They sat in silence for a while until Riza spoke. She lifted her face to look at him, "About last night…"

Roy put down his mug and gave her his full attention, "Would you like to tell me what happened?"

"I had another dream…with the man from before." She started. Roy frowned at this news and prompted her to continue.

"It was different this time. I wasn't injured and I had my guns. I was running down the same alley as before, but I decided to turn and face him rather than run." She said with a little more strength.

He folded his hands on the table, "Did he say anything to you?"

Riza leaned back in her chair, "I asked him what he wanted and and he said that he wanted revenge."

His expression became grim, "Revenge? Is he an Ishbalan?"

She shook her head, "No, I don't think he is. He seemed to be surprised that I didn't remember what I did."

"Hmmm…apparently you did something to this man in the past and you can't seem to remember what you did?" he stated.

"Yes, he mentioned something else too…" she said in a quiet tone again.

Roy gazed intently at her, "What else did he say to you Riza?"

She bit her lip and looked away before sheanswered, "…He told me…that something had happened to you…I didn't know what to do." She put her head in her hands.

'So, that's why she was saying those things last night…This guy is a real bastard. I can't wait to get my hands on him.'

He got up and stood next to Riza and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry Riza, we'll get this bastard and everything can go back to normal. Now, let's get ready for work."

Riza had slight smile on her face and she stood up to go get dressed.

Roy sighed, 'This is going to be a long day…' he thought, heading into his own room.

He changed into his uniform and left the room to join Riza.

She was in the bathroom putting her hair up when Roy walked by the bathroom. He paused and leaned and came back to the door.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

She finished slipping her hair up in her usual bun and turned around, "Yes, but we have to hurry. It's almost 10."

He looked at his watch and his eyes widened in mock surprise, "So it is, all the more reason to not hurry. I'm sure they can wait." He said offhandedly.

"I don't think so roy. We are not procrastinating on this matter. Now, move." Riza ordered and she pushed Roy out of the doorway and down the hall.

"But Riza…I don't want to go." He whined, pulling on his coat.

Riza sighed and pulled on her own coat, "Too bad, you're going whether you like it or not."

He growned and response and Riza rolled her eyes and pushed him towards the door. They had almost made to the door when Riza felt something tug at her pant leg. She looked down to find Hayate wagging his tail and holding his leash in his mouth.

"Looks like he wants to go with us today." Roy stated with a smile.

"So it would seem." She said removing the leash from his mouth and attaching it to his collar.

Roy opened the door for them and they walked out into the beautiful spring morning. He locked the door when Riza and Hayate were out of the house.

She and Hayate waited patiently at the end of the walkway while Roy finished locking up. Soon enough, Roy joinned them and they were off to work.

"Do you remember who we're interviewing today?" Riza asked as they rounded a corner.

Roy scratched his head in thought, "Hmmm…Soren Quan, Atlas Beckett, Raymond Shurk, Grahm Aushwitz, and Rube Thrift if I remember correctly."

She nodded, "Alright, so how are we going to go about interviewing them?"

He shrugged, "It doesn't matter, but we do need to make sure they don't suspect anything."

Riza was about to say something more when a voice interupted her, "Ah, Riza its been a while since I've seen you. What have you been doing and who is this young man?" Riza flinched and turned to greet the person.

"Good morning Mrs. Shiner. How are you this morning?" she asked the old lady who had called out to them.

Mrs. Shiner laughed, "I'm doing well enough, but you havent answered my question deary. Who is this young man? Is your beau?"

Roy grinned and Riza flushed at this, "No, no it's nothing like that. He's my boss." She explained.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Roy Mustang." He smiled at the old woman and held out his hand.

This made the woman laugh heartily, "My, my, my such manners. The pleasure is mine Mr. Mustang, I am Molly Shiner." She turned to Riza. "You better nab him fast, there aren't many men left like him."

Riza sighed, exasperated, "Nevermind that Molly, don't try to do what you did last time when you tried to hook me up. I almost died because of that."

This perplexed Roy, "Died?"

"How was I supposed to know he was an excesive drunk?" Molly said, waving the matter away.

She looked at her watch again and grabbed Roy's arm, "Come on sir, it's ten after." Roy sighed and pouted.

"It was nice to see you again molly, I'll come back later for some of your apples." Riza said starting down the sidewalk.

Roy saluted her, "It was a pleasure to meet you Molly. I enjoyed our chat thoroughly."

"You were just trying to dfind a way to waste time. We're already late, so let's go dir." Riza said, grabbing his ear and dragging him down the street.

Molly laughed at this sign of affection between the two and she grabbed two of her best apples from her stand, "Mr. Mustang! Ms. Riza! Please take these to snack on, they're on the house."

Roy caught the apples and handed one to Riza, "Thank you very much Mrs. Shiner, have a good day!" Roy said and he took a bite of his apple.

They bid the woman good day and continued their journey to HQ. Riza took a bite of her apple and savored its suculent flavor, "I love Molly's apples, they are the best in Central."

"I can see why, this is the sweetest apple I have ever tasted." Roy stated, taking another hearty bite of the apple.

She smiled and they started up the steps to Central.

The soldiers they passes saluted them and said good morning and Roy and Riza responded in kind.

Lt. Ross walked up too them and saluted, "Sirs, the Lt. Colonel requested that you come to his office immediately."

Roy sighed, "It must be about the interviews. Thank you Lt. Ross, you're dismissed." Ross saluted again and walked away.

"Well, let's head over to his office and we can get started." She suggested and they headed over to Maes' office to start the day.

Otp: Ok, I think I made Riza a little too OOC in this chapter….

Roy: 'munches on an apple'

Riza: 'munches on an apple'

Otp: 'glares at them both' You guys are a lot of help!

Roy and Riza: 'shrug and continue to munch on the apples'

Otp: Well, leave me a reviewif you liked the chapter and any kind of suggestion is much appreciated. Until next time, I'm off!!!!!!!!


	8. Being Late and Interviews

Otp: Heya! I finally updated and I feel proud of myself

Roy: 'yawn' So what?

Otp: You know I would love to see you play softball. Riza and I are on the team why aren't you?

Roy: 'silence'

Otp: Thought so now onto my review responses. Thank you:

Winglessfairy25

Lady Kanameko

MoogleX

Military-dog

Riza Hawkeye 9

Blknblupanther1

Roy Mustang 08

LuvInu88

Kyorma

Kimi….the Josh lover

MoonStarDuchess

Lady Lola Laflaunda

Aqua-eyed mystery520

Ishie

PR forever

Silver candle

Otp: Wow…..i got a lot of reviews this time….YAY thanks a lot everyone! Now onto the next chapter!

Chapter 8 Being Late and Interviews

After they had deposited their things in their own office, Roy and Riza headed over to Maes' office. Black Hayate was trotting along happily next to his master.

"He's not going to be happy seeing as we're late sir." Riza said in a serious tone.

Roy shrugged, "I know he'll get over it. Besides, we're only 15 minutes late."

She rolled her eyes and knocked on the door to Maes' ofice. It flew open and Riza jumped back to avoid it only to collide with Roy. Hayate yelped in surprise and ran behind Roy's legs.

Before either of them could say a word, Maes had pulled them forcefully into the room. "It's about time you two got here! We've been waiting for 15 minutes!" he said in annoyance, glaring at them.

Riza ignored this statement and scooped up Hayate while Roy dealt with Maes.

Maes was gazing at his face with a look of curiosity, "What happened to your face Roy?"

Roy looked away, "Don't want to talk about it…"

Maes gave them both a calculating look and smiled, "Oh really? Got a little rough huh? What were you two doing last night?"

"What did you say Maes? I couldn't quite catch that last bit." Roy said, holding up his gloved hand in a threatening way. This made Maes take a tentative step backwards… and into a silver gun barrel. He gulped in fear, alrady knowing who was behind him.

"If you must know Maes, I don't think its any of your business." Riza stated firmly. Maes cringed at the murderous look in her eyes and held up his hands in defeat.

"Right…forget I asked. Moving along, if you will follow me we can get this party started." He said bouncing back and leading them to a door to the right of his desk.

The scond Maes opened the door, Roy felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He glanced over at Riza and he noticed that she had tensed and her eyes were narrowed in concentration.

One thought was going through their heads: he was here.

Five men were sitting in various places in the room and they all looked up at them when the door opened.

Maes strode forward to address the men, "Sorry about the wait everyone, they finally arrived. May I introduce Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist and his aide 1st Lt. Riza Hawkeye. They are the ones who will be interviewing you today."

Roy was about to get the interviews started when there was a snort. All eyes turned to a stumpy looking man sitting (AN: or standing whichever you would like to call it XD) in a corner. The man looked up and glared at Riza, "We're being questioned by a woman? Bah, I ain't going to answer any question she asks." He said gruffly.

Hayate growled at the man and Roy stepped forward to turn the guy into a pile of ashes when Maes held out his arm to stop him. Roy glared at him, his eye making it clear that he wanted to be released, but Maes gave him a look that said to let her deal with it on her own.

Riza set Hayate on the ground and walked over to the short man with her gun out and aimed between his eyes, "Do you have a problem with a woman asking questions?"

He guffawed, " Aya, I have a problem with you askin' me questions. What're you gonna do about it eh? Shoot me?" he said cheekily.

Her grip on the gun tightened as she resisted the urge to shoot the arrogant man. She was aobut to do so when a gloved hand closed around her gun and lowered it.

She looked up in surprise to see a strangly calm Roy, "Stand aside Lt., I'll deal with this." He said, walking past her towards the man.

He stood before the man for a few moments before he spoke, "I wouldn't threaten her if you value your life sir. You just insulted the best sniper in the military and if you do it again, you'll leave this place in a jar filled with ashes. Do we understand each other?" he said in a dangerous tone.

This did nothing to phase the man and he let out another laugh, "I'd like to see you try flame boy."

Roy was ready to pounce when Riza decided to maintain order. She stepped between the two quarrelling men, "Enough of this! There are a few things that need to sorted out before anything else, so you two are going to to have to put aside this matter and stick to the one at hand." She commanded.

While they were sorting everything out, two people in the room were paying more attention to the exchange between Riza and Roy. Maes was grinning happily thinking, 'Awww, Roy is getting overprotective! I wish I had my camera…'

The other man was silently laughing o himself, 'Only a matter of time before you're mine…'

Riza had gotten the situation under control and now she was handing Roy a pile of files, "Now that that is settled, we can get started. Soren Quan, would you please follow us. Hayate, you stay here."

A tall man with long black hair tied in a tight braid stood up. He looked no older than 22 and his eyes danced with intelligence. His clothing was all black and an intricate sword hilt could be seen poking out of his back. (AN: I want to flip, like a ninja XD)

Soren Quan strode over to them and bowed, "Hajime mashte doozo yoroshiku. I am very pleased to meet you." He said and translated into his own language. (AN: Japanese language by the way and I don't own it)

Both Roy and Riza knew some of the language and they responded in kind as they left the room.

They were about halfway down the hall when Riza turned to Soren, "Do you prefer to speak in your own language or ours?"

"I need to practice your language so it will be fine. Thank you for asking. Eh? Oh, inu desu." Soren bent down to give Black Hayate a pat on the head with a smile.

They stopped and Roy turned to give Riza a questioning look, "Didn't we leave him with Maes?"

She was frowning slightly as she answered, "I guess he followed us. I hope you don't mind Mr. Quan." She said appologetically.

Soren laughed, "It is no trouble, and please, call me Soren. The Mr. makes me feel old." He picked up the squirming dog and they continued on their way down the hallway.

Riza turned to Roy and whispered, "Why did you do that this morning? I could have taken care of it myself."

Roy sighed, he knew she was going to bring that up sometime. "I knew you were going to say something about that. Look, I don't know what came over me I'm sorry."

She glared at him as they stopped in front of the door to the interagation room. She hissed, "We'll discuss this later sir."

She opened the door and led them inside. Soren followed after her with Hayate still in his arms while Roy shut the door. He took a seat next to Riza and glanced at Soren, "Can you tell us a little about yourself Soren? What are your hobbies?" he asked, going right into it.

"Well, I work with my ane-san in the herbal tea shop that my parents left us. We have been doing very well and we have two dogs and 1 cat. I like to read and play the flute. I love music." He replied.

"What kind of books do you like to read?" Riza asked.

"Almost anything I can get my hands on. I do love a good mystery or action now and then and alchemy books." He said, scratching Hayate behind the ears.

Roy nodded, "What first got you interested in alchemy?"

Soren smiled, "I was…what is your word for it….ah, inspired by stories about you actually. I had heard about all of the things you did for Amestris and its people."

This surprised Roy, "Really? Why me? I've done so many horrible things."

"The good out weighs the bad as my chi-chiue told me." Soren said proudly.

Riza glanced at Roy with a look of concern and saw that he was smiling. She relaxed slightly and waited for him to say something.

"I don't think I'm a person you should admire so much." He said in a sad tone.

"I think you're wrong about that. If I didn't think so, then I wouldn't be here." Soren said.

Nobody said anything for a while until Riza grew tired of the silence, "We should continue, I'm sure you have better things to do than sit around here and answer questions."

He nodded, "Forgiveme, please continue."

When Roy remained silent, Riza took over, "What sort of alchemy do you specialize in?"

"It is hard for me to explain in your language, so I will show you." He said. He stood up and drew the sword hanging from his shoulder and slashed downward at the chair before him. He cleaved the poor chair in two pieces and there was a flash of silver light and he stepped back for them to examine his work.

Even Black Hayate had come over to examine it as ORy and Riza moved around the table to look at the chair fragments.

Roy's eyes widened in surprise and he turned to Soren, "What did you do to it? It has a different composition than before."

Soren held up his sword with a smile, "My sword is engraved with different transmutation circles and whatever it touches, I can change it into two different elements."

Riza picked up the now glass piece of the chair. She was impressed by his skill withboth alchemy and swordsmanship. She looked up to see Roy and Soren discussing alchemic formulas and Roy was examining the sword.

She sighed and sat back down in her chair and thought, 'One of those men is the one following me. Who could it be though? I don't think it's Soren, but I could be wrong. He might be a very good actor. What…'

"Lt.? Are you alright? I have been calling your name for almost five minutes." Roy interupted her thoughts.

She looked up at him and nodded, "Sorry sir, I was just thinking about a few things." Roy frowned at this but said nothing about it, "Anyways, we're done here. You're dismissed Soren, thank you for you taking time out of your day to talk to us and good luck tomorrow." He said shaking Soren's hand.

"No problem, I will try my best. It was a pleasure to meet you both." He said shaking Riza's hand.

She smiled, "You're welcome and I hope you are chosen."

"Indeed, Sayonara toy you too Black Hayate." He gave the dog a final pat on the head and left the room.

Once he was gone, Roy shifted his gaze back to Riza. "May I ask what you were thinking about earlier Riza?"

"I was only trying to figure out which one of those men is the one following me."

"You don't think it's Soren do you? I actually like that fellow." He said in a hopeful tone.

She shook her head, "No, I don't think it's him, but I can't be sure," she stood up. "Let's go get the next interview started so we can get out of here."

Roy nodded and they strode out of the room back towards Maes' office to start the second interview of the day.

Otp: Alright, that was a really boring chapter I know

Roy: You put Japanese words and phrases in there. What the hell do those mean?

Riza: 'sigh' Hajime mashte doozo yoroshiku means it's nice to meet you.

Otp: Inu desu means it's a dog and chi-chiue and ane-san mean father and sister. I don't thin I need to explain what sayonara is do I?

Roy: …..No

Otp: Alright then, no worries. I hope everyone liked the chapter even if it was a little boring. The next one shall be much better. Until next time, please review and have a wonderful day!!


	9. One Hell of a Day

Otp: Well, it's that time again and I'm sure you have all been dying to know what happens or something like that

Roy: would you…

Otp: Not yet, first I must mention that chapter 70 of the manga is one of the best so far and I am ticked that they left Riza's part off….now I have to wait for another month to see what happens

Riza: True 'glares at Roy' You had better move and come after me you idiot. I won't forgive you if they get a hold of me

Roy: Don't worry Lt. I shall save you! 'heroically trips and falls on his face'

Otp: Anyways, on to the review responses. Thank you:

Lola's crazy. I know.

Riza Hawkeye 9

MoonStarDutchess

Aqua-eyed mystery520

Lordlemming

Kyorma

RR forever

Dreximgirl

DyerFire

B4&after

Winglessfairy25

Kahel16

Kimi...the ninja!!

Itachi'sLuvr123191

Patience Halliwell

SakuraTearDrop

Otp: Thank you all for your support and now for the next chapter of Hunted!!!!!

Chapter 9 One Hell of a Day Pt.1

2 Hours Later:

'This just isn't my day…' Riza thought angrily as she removed her uniform jacket. She grabbed a clean cloth and dipped it into the soapy water. Taking it out, she began to scrub visciously at the dark stain on her uniform.

After about 5 minutes of scrubbing and no progress, Riza gave up and threw the washcloth into the sink in frustration. It was quite obvious that the stain wasn't going to come out anytime soon no matter what she did.

Glancing at the jacket, she thought about her exciting day. The end of Soren Quan's interview was the beginning of a chaotic day.

The second interview was with Atlas Beckett who reminded her strongly of Major Armstrong; both physically and personality wise. The next man, Raymond Shurk was extremely cruel. He talked about what he wanted to do to people who broke the law. Roy had gotten angry at him because he kept on making suggestive comments about her. Everytime she thought of him she was reminded of Archer and Kimbly.

She and Roy had decided to keep an eye one him for the time being.

Thinking about the next interview made hershudder. _That _interview could be described in one word: Hell.

Rube Thrift was the same man who had insulted her earlier that day and it didn't get any better this time. It went something like this…

Flashback:

"Rube Thrift?" Roy asked the room's remaining two occupants.

The short man stood up and waddled over to them with a sour expression adorning his face. He glanced at Riza and then turned to Roy, "I ain't gonna talk if she's there. If you want me to talk, you're gonna hafta get rid of her." He said gruffly.

Roy tensed and grabbed the man by the lapel and drew him up to eye-level, "I told you earlier, if you don't want to become a pile of ashes, you wouldn't insult her again. I guess I didn't make myself clear enough last time…"

Before he could say or do anything else, Riza was there and she was giving Roy a look that told him to put the man down. It also said that she would handle it. "Sir, please put the man down so we can get started with the interview," Roy didn't move a muscle and Riza frowned. "I mean _now_ sir." She ordered sternly.

"But Hawkeye…" he protested.

"No buts sir, realease him _now_."

Roy frowned but put Rube down without question. Rube streightened his attire and wheeled around to face Roy again with an amused expression, "I can't believe that you let a woman boss you around. Hmph, and you call yourself a man…"

At this comment Maes laughed. It was true, Roy _did _let Riza order him around, all the time in fact.

Riza's eyes widened in amusement and Roy was fuming, but he never got a chance to react as Rube continued, "Lets get this overwith you poor excuse for a man." He commented as he walked past Roy and Riza out into the hallway.

"I can't wait to burn him to a crisp…" Roy said through gritted teeth. His fists were shaking with supressed rage and he turned to Riza with a forced smile, "We'd better get started."

She nodded and followed Roy into the hallway after Rube.

End Flashback:

Riza closed her eyes and thought about what had happened next. They arrived at the interogation room and began the interview without much incident until they discovered that Black Hayate had followed them and now he was growling at Rube.

Rube became annoyed and kicked the dog, making him skid across the floor whimpering. This time it was Riza who needed to be restrained from attacking him for what he had just done to her dog. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of the chaos.

Soon after this incident, they were finally able to get the disagreeable man to show them what type of alchemy he could do. He was able to turn his whole body into and impenetrable armor.

They then asked him a few more questions and he insulted them with everyone of them. After giving them another round of verbal abuse, he asked them for coffee.

Being desprate to get out of the room and away from Rube, Riza jumped up at the chance to have a break. She left the room and left Roy behind to take care of Rube for the time being.

When she returned, Roy and Rube were having a nice little staring contest. She quickly put a stop to that and handed Rube a mug of coffee.

He snatched it out of her hands and took a sip. Immediately he spit it out and wiped his mouth all the while glaring at her. Then he threw the coffee at her, yelling that she wasn't even able to make a decent cup of coffee. The coffee spilled all over her jacket leaving a dark brown stain.

Roy had jumped up and was threatening Rube. Hayate was also growling avidly at the man but, neither of them noticed as she slipped out of the room and towards the bathroom.

Which brought her to where she was now. With a sigh, she stood up and splashed some water on her face. Not looking at the soiled uniform, she left the room and headed back to the interogation room.

The closer she got to the room the more uneasy she bcame.

She took a deep breath and opened the door. A blast of hot air and smoke wooshed by her and she had to bring up her arm to shield her eyes from the blinding flash of red light. The exsplosion was deafening and it shook the ground and almost knocked her off her feet.

She heard some barks and cursing as she stumbled into the room coughing from the smoke. As the smoke cleared she could finally make out to figures. One was in front of her with his arm outstretched and looking completely baffled, the other was on the ground and cursing while he tried to wipe the cinders from his face and beard, "Damn you, you cur!" he shouted.

Walking up to the man in front of her, she grabbed his ear again dragging him down to eye-level, "Would you mind explaining to me what just happened sir?" she asked in a dangerous tone.

He winced aas she pulled harder on his ear, waiting for an answer, "I didn't know that was going to happen I swear. I was only going to singe him a bit. When he turned into armor he was a like a human oven! Oww, damn.. not so hard on the ear."

Still extremely angry, she let go of his ear, "I'll deal with you later," then she turned to Rube. "I am extremely sorry for what just happened and I assure you it will be taken care of," she glared at Roy who gulped. "You are free to go and I suggest you make a stop by the infirmary on your way out." She said firmly.

Rube gave her a nasty look before he got up and waddled out of the room, grumbling and cursing all the way.

Once he was gone, Riza slumped into a chair and closed her eyes. Today was really starting to become a pain in the ass and she was quickly reaching her stress level. Roy quietly sat down next to her dropped his head to the table. Black Hayate jumped up onto his master's lap.

Roy sighed, "One hell of a day huh?" he said with a small smile.

She almost smacked him, this _was_ all his fault in the first place, "You think Sir?" she said sarcastically. She continued, "And don't think I'm going to forget what you did to that man by changing the subject, even though I don't really care what happens to him. You could be court martialed if he reports you."

He sighed, "Yeah, yeah, I'll deal with it later after we finish up here." He said standing up.

Riza didn't move, "If you deal with it later you might not be able to get out of it. I think it would be best if you took care of it now _sir_."

He frowned at her tone, "It's not the first time I've been faced with a court martial. I've always gotten out of them before, why should it be different this time?" he asked. He was starting to get a little annoyed with the conversation.

Riza was now standing up and Hayate had jumped off her lap, "Don't get over confident sir, it could be your downfall." She said icily, glaring at Roy. Her tolerance was already at the brim and it was starting to overflow. Anymore would cause her to lose control.

He glared right back at her with his black eyes, "I'm not being over confident, don't get so worked up about it. They didn't get rid of me when I killed the Fuhrer so I doubt they'll get rid of me for this. This is nothing compared to that incident." He said sternly.

His eyes widened when he noticed that she was shaking he instantly regretted what he had just said. He was about to apologize when Riza raised her blazing eyes to meet his.

She glared at him, "Oh yes, _last time_ you killed the Fuhrer and you were almost killed yourself and you lost the use of your left eye!" her voice became stronger as she progressed. "After that, you gave up your title of the Flame Alchemist and reenlisted as a corporal. Then you left for the Northern border without a word to any of us! You're right, this _is _nothing compared to that!" Roy flinched at the anger and hurt evident behind her voice. Never had he seen her this angry before and he was worried.

"I—" he tried to say something more, but Riza held out her hand to silence him.

"No, nevermind, I'm going to go back to the office and do some paperwork done. I think you can handle the last interview by yourself." She said forcfully. Without another word, she strode past him and out the door with Hayate following close behind.

Riza was struggling to keep the tears from sliding down her face. She was under too much stress and even she couldn't hold it off any longer. It was hard enough to keep her emotions in check with all that was going on around her. She looked down to see Hayate giving her a worried look.

She mangaged a small smile and walked towards her office to get some extra ammo and go down to the shooting range. She need to let off some steam.

Roy was still standing in the same place Riza had left him. He was mentally cursing himself for ever bringing that subject up, 'Damn, I just had to go and make her angry…I guess I'll let her cool off a little and I'll get Maes to talk to her for me while I do the last interview.' He thought dejectedly as he headed off towards Maes' office to grab the last participant.

With a shrug, Roy opened the door to Maes' office to tell him about what happened to Riza and to get Grahm Aushwitz for the interview.

Maes was on the phone and he looked up when Roy entered and frowned, "Thanks for heads up Havoc. I'll talk to you later." He hung up the phone and gave Roy a tired look. "That was Havoc. He told me that Riza came into the office in a huff. Mind telling me what happened Roy?"

Roy shook his head and glanced over at Grahm, who was watching them with interest, "I'll tell you about it later Maes. I'm going to finish this interview first."

"Alright, but whatever you did, you better apologize to her. Even if you didn't do anything, its better to do it anyways." He said sagely.

He sighed, "Don't worry Maes, I'll take care of it when I'm done with the interview. You can go get some lunch while I finish or you could talk to her for me?" he said, picking up the last file on Maes' desk.

Maes stood up and wagged a finger at Roy, "hey, isn't that _your_ job Roy? You're the one she's upset with for whatever reason that may be. Why do I have to be the one to talk to her?"

"Because you're my best friend and you have a wife?" Roy suggested innocently.

"Fine, I'll talk to her for you but you still have to apologize to her yourself. I'm off and good luck Roy."

"I will and thanks. I owe you one." Roy said in a relieved and thankful tone as Maes left the room.

Otp: Finally finsihed with this chapter

Roy: Yeah it took you long enough

Riza: How dare he kick my dog…..'seething and pulling out her guns to shoot Rube'

Rube: Hmph, you can't shoot me. I am indestructble.\

Riza: 'smirks' You wanna bet?

Rube: You're on you old hag

Otp: 'sighs and wllks over to Rube and gives him an atomic wedgie' Indestructable my ass…..

Roy: …..Ok, well if you liked this chapter please leave a review and until next time, laters


	10. ATTACK! The Stalker Appears

Otp: I am totally back with a few new tricks up my sleeve so enjoy the….

Roy: Get on with it

Riza: 'boxes Roy's ears' Roy! That's rude now appologize

Otp: ….Oh nevermind I'll just get one with the review replies. Thank you:

Unheardgoodconscience

Kyorma

Lady Lola

Roy Mustang 08

Riza Hawkeye 9

Night Alchemist

Winglessfairy25

Haruko sohma

MoonStarDutchess

Blknblupanther1

Aqua-eyed mystery520

Silver candle

DyerFire

CristalBlack

SakuraTearDrop

Malicious-Alchemist

Itachi'sLuvr123191

Otp: I thank you all for your support and now for the chapter you have all been waiting for.

Chapter 10 ATTACK!! The Stalker Appears

"BANG!" the sound of the gun echoed of the walls of the shooting range as a solitary figure shot at the paper target at the far end of the range.

Amber eyes scrutinized the target, 'Damn, that was a little too far to the right…' she thought with a frown.

Riza raised the gun again, took aim and pulled the trigger.

"BANG!BANG!BANG!"

She paused again to reload and someone entered the tange without alerting Riza. That is, until he spoke.

"Don't you think you're overdoing a little bit Riza?"

Alarmed, Riza whirled around, pointing her gun at the perpetraitor. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized who it was.

Maes Hughe was standing behind her with a smile. She lowered her gun and gave him a stiff salute, "Lt. Colonel, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't sneak up on me while I am shooting." She said in an emotionless tone.

He scratched the back of his neck and laughed nervously, "Uh, sure thing, sorry about that. Believe me, I wont be doing it again any time soon unless I want to be shot at."

She nodded curtly and turned back to the target, "Was there something that you needed from me Lt. Colonel? If there isn't, I would like to get back to my target practice."

His expression quickly became serious, "Havoc called and told me that you came back to the office in a bad mood and then Roy comes in and asks me to talk to you. Though, if you ask me, he should be doing this himself…"

"Why did he want you to talk to me?" Riza asked, putting her gun away for the time being and walking over to the bench beside Maes. She sat down and patted the spot next to her, inviting him to come and sit with her.

Maes obliged and sat down next to her, "I actually have no idea what he wanted me to talk to you about," he turned his head to look at her. "I'm guessing you two had a fight of some sort?"

She nodded, "You could say it was something like that…"

"Lover's quarrel?" he asked with a grin.

Riza gave him a glare that made him flinch and he held up his hands in surrender, "Heh, forget I ever said that…so, what happened then?"

She sighed, "I would have no idea where to begin…"

It was true, so much had happened that day and Riza only wanted it to end.

Maes adjusted his glasses, "That exciting?"

Riza almost chuckled, "You have no idea."

"Enlighten me." He said.

She gave him a weary smile, "He did something stupid again. you recall the man the Colonel threatened earlier today right? Well, he has the ability to make his whole body into armor and Roy tried to singe him a bit. Unfortunately, he turned the poor man into a human oven."

He chuckled, "I'm sure he did it for a good reason and don't tell me you weren't glad that he got what he deserved for insulting you."

Riza's face reddened and she looked away. It was true that she had felt a little pleased that Rube had been burned, but she wasn't about to admit it.

"That's not the point, he could be court martialed if Rube reports him. I wish that just once, Roy would get punished for something he did." she hated to say it but she really wished he would be humbled sometimes.

Maes put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Well, I don't think now is the best of times for him to be punished, but I don't think you should worry about it. If something happens somewhere down the line then he can deal with it then but right now I wouldn't worry about it. He just gets overconfident sometimes and loses his head, but since we're here, he'll manage."

Riza closed her eyes and thought about what Maes had said. She sighed, "I know but, I can't help being worried about him."

"Do you trust him?" Maes asked.

"Of course." She replied.

"Then let him take care of it. He's probably just worried about you and he's trying to make things less stessful for you." He said kindly.

She smiled tiredly, "He's just making it worse."

Maes only shrugged and they sat there in silence for a while and Riza's expression softened, "I guess you're right, I think this whole situation is starting to get to me," she gave him a genuine smile. "Thank you Maes, I think I'll go…"

"BOOOOOOM!" Part of the northern wall to the shooting range exploded knocking Maes and Riza onto the ground.

The Interrogation Room: (This is happening when Riza was talking to Maes)

"So, you learned alchemy from your brother?" Roy asked Grahm.

Grahm nodded, "Yes, he taught me everything I know…"

Roy tuned Grahm out as he concentrated on more important things. He was worried about Riza and he wondered if Maes had talked to her yet. 'She must be under a lot of stress for her to lose her temper like that. Damn, there's got to be something I can do to cheer her up a bit.' the pondered.

While he was deep in his thoughts, Grahm had stopped talking and he was gazing at Roy with confusion, Mustang? Are you alright?"

Grahm's words jolted Roy out of his trance and he gave him a dazed expression, "Oh, sorry about that. I've been having one hell of a day and I must have dozed off."

"It's alright, I understand. Is there anything else I need to do or may I leave?" Grahm asked.

"Actually, before you leave, can you give me a demonstration on your alchemy? After that, you are free to go." Roy said sitting up a little streighter in his chair.

"Of course, just let me get ready." He said standing up. he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of white gloves with a blue transmutation circle stitched on them.

He turned to Roy with a smile as he pulled on the gloves, "You might want to stand back a little for this."

Roy obliged and took a few steps back asa Grahm closed his eyes and rubbed his hands together.

There was a crackling sound and toungues of white light sparked to life between his hands. Grahm slowly pulled his palms apart and the pulsating light began to lengthen and soon it became a long solid stick of light.

With a moment more, the crackling sound stopped and Grahm held a bow of pure light in his hands. Roy's eye widened, he was definitely impressed by this show of skill.

Grahm turened to Roy again and brought his hand to the bowstring and drew it back. As he did so, another shaft of light began to form. This time it was an arrow.

"This is my form of alchemy, my Light Arrow. What do you think of it?" Grahm said proudly.

Roy smiled, "I have never seen anything like it before, well done. I am truly impressed. Thank you for your time Mr. Aushwitz, you are free to go."

Before Grahm could say anything more, Roy was already shooting out the door.

Grahm let his bow and arrow disappear, "Huh, I wonder why he's in such a hurry…" he took off his gloves and deposited them in his pocket and he walked out of the room whistling a little diddy.

With Roy:

'I'll go check at the office first and then I'll go to the shooting range…' Roy thought as he hurried down the hallway towards his office.

Upon entering the office, he frowned. Havoc was leaning back in his chair snoring loudly. Looking around, Roy saw that none of his other subordinates were present and his frown deepend.

He walked over to Havoc's desk and slammed his hands down it's surface, "Havoc! Wake up!"

With a shout of surprise. Havoc woke up and scooted his chair and falling over.

Havoc winced, massaging the back of his head. He looked up to see his frowning boss, "Damn, that was uncalled for Mustang. You could have jut tapped me on the shoulder or something." He grumbled, standing up and righting the chair.

"Have you seen Hawkeye anywhere?" Roy asked, ignoring Havoc's protests.

"What? Yeah, she was here around an hour ago why?" Havoc said a little perplexed.

"Where did she go?"

Havoc shrugged, "The shooting range probably. She was in a pretty bad mood when she came in. Did something happen?"

Roy's eye narrowed and he turned away from Havoc and headed towards the door again, "Nevermind, I'll be…"

"BOOOOM!"

The ground shook, throwing Roy and Havoc to the ground. As the quaking subsided, Roy scrambled to his feet and ran to the window. A pillar of smoke was coming from a large brick building on the other side of the compound.

His eye widened in shock and fear as he realized where the exlosion had occurred.

"Damn! Havoc, let's move. That was the shooting range that just exploded!" Roy ordered as he ran out the room with Havoc close behind.

Shooting Range:

Riza and Maes stumbled to their feet coughing from the smoke and dust that permiated the area.

"Damnit, what the hell was that?" Maes asked, pulling out a few of his knives and squinting through the haze.

"I have no idea…" Riza replied, she was already holding her guns. Her sharp eyes scanned the area and alighted on a hazy figure blocking the huge hole that had appeared in the wall.

Her body tensed and she shot towards the figure. It dodged to the left and rushed towards her. She let loose a volley of bullets while Maes tried to pin it with his daggers.

Nothing they did stopped him and without warning he disappeared. Riza's eyes were darting everywhere trying to pinpoint where the man had disappeared to.

"You seem to be out of ammo, my little bird. What a pity."

Riza whirled around to aim her gun at a tall man dressed in all black with a white mask that covered the upper hald of his face. His violet eyes and his mocking smirk made Riza freeze in fear.

She backed away in fear and reached for one of her hidden pistols.

The man wagged a finger at her as if he was scolding a child, "Now now, I wouldn't do that if I were you. You wouldn't want to hurt your friend here."

He moved aside and it was then that Riza noticed the fallen figure behind him. Her expression faltered as she recognized Maes' fallen profile.

Taking her eyes off of Maes, she gave the figure before her an icy glare. Slowly but hesitantly she pulled the pistol from its holster and threw it at his feet.

"What did you do to him?" she asked scathingly.

"Don't worry, I only knkocked him out for a bit. I'm not here to fight."

She gnashed her teeth, "What the hell do you want!? Who are you!?"

He chuckled, "It's obvious isn't it. I want _you_ Miss Hawkeye. How many times must I tell you."

"Riza!! Where are you!?" Riza's eyes moved to see Roy come barging into the ruins with his gloves on and a look that could kill.

'No, he shouldn't have come here!' her thoughts screamed in worry.

"Get out of here now Sir!" she commanded, trying to get Roy out of danger.

Roy ignored her pleas and glanced at the man standing in front of Riza. His look was menacing as he strode over to stand next to Riza, "Who the hell are you?" he asked, a dangerous edge hidden in his words.

The smile on the man's face widened, "Ah, here is the famous Flame Alchemist. Glad you could join us."

Otp: You all probably hate me for writing this mice big cliffy

Readers: Damn right!

Otp: Too bad, but don't worry I shall try not to make your wait too agonizingly long.

Roy and Riza: Until next time! R&R


	11. Confrontation, Burn, & PiggyBack Rides

Otp: Heya, I bet all of you are just dying to know what happens aren't you?

Readers: Just get on with it!!!

Roy: I guess that means yes…..

Riza: Might as well get on with it before they kill you

Otp: Fine, you bunch of meanies. I'll be thanking the reviewers at the end of this chapter just to make your wait more bearable and HAPPY ROYAI DAY!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 11 Confrontations, Burns, and Piggy-back Rides

The smile on the man's face widened, "Ah, here is the famous Flame Alchemist. Glad you could join us."

"Cut the crap, I asked you a question. Now answer it!" Roy demanded, stepping in front of Riza with _both_ hands up ready to snap.

Riza could see the amused grin on the stalker's face and she knew something was wrong. This man was planning something, but before she could warn Roy, the man spoke, "Forgive me, I almost forgot my manners. I cannot tell you _who_ I am but you may call me Abunai, for that is what I am. Hmmm, you seem a little wound up, is something wrong?"

Roy growled and snapped his fingers, sendng a torrent of flame towards Abunai. Abunai dodged them with ease and laughed, "So you are angry, I see it now. Might I suggest that you get your eye checked? Ever since you got that eyepatch, your depth perception has gotten worse. I doubt you could hit a horse even if it was right in front of you." He mocked.

Riza hurried towards Roy and grabbed his arm before he could move, "Roy don't…"

"Don't tell me not to do it Riza, I am not going to let _him_ get away with what he's done!" he said harshly, jerking his arm out of her grip.

She glared at him and grabbed his arm again, "I know that, I don't want to let him get away either…but he's up to something. We can't rush into this without thinking." She warned.

He turned his head toawrds her and gave her a warm smile, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing and I'm not about to let you get hurt." He gently plucked his arm from her lax grip and stood in front of her.

She stepped back a little and watched with apprehension as Roy rubbed his hands together creating red sparks that danced about his hands. He slowly pulled his hands apart and a ball of flame formed between them.

Roy held the swirling ball of flame and glared at Abunai, "You will regret ever coming after one of my friends you bastard. Now die!" he exclaimed, launching the fireball at him.

Abunai chuckled as the fireball sped towards him and he brought his hands up to reveal black gloves with a white sigil stitched on them, "Do you really think that a little trick like that will get rid of me?! Ha, let me show you a real trick!" Abunai raised his gloved hands and snapped.

A huge gale tore through the area and hit the whorl of fire and sent it back towards Roy. Riza was about to move out of the way when she realized that Roy hadn't moved. He was still standing in the same place bracing himself against the ferocious gale and he had yet to notice the huge ball of flame aimed at his head.

Riza knew she didn't have any time to warn him so she launched herself at him knocking him out of the way. They tumbled off to the right and the fireball passed by and Riza cried out in pain as it hit her shoulder. The fireball exploded a little ways behind them with a boom covering her cry.

Roy quickly recovered from the fall and glared at Abunai, "You missed, who's aim needs help now?"

Abunai chortled, "Missed did I? I don't think so. Take a look at your dear Lt." he gestured towards Riza who was clutching her shoulder.

His eye widened in surprise and he hurried over to her, "Damn, Riza what happened?!" he asked in a panicked voice.

She winced, "Nevermind, give me your gun so I can shoot the damn bastard." She commanded, holding out her good hand.

"No, you're injured and you need to stay still." He protested.

Riza glared at him, "Give me the gun now Roy!" she demanded forcefully.

Roy knew he wasn't going to win against her so he pulled out the fun he always carried but never used and handed it to her. She took it and fired at Abunai.

He dodged this way and that laughing all the while, "Well I must be off. Places to go people to see. I've enjoyed our little chat but farewell for now my little bird." He threw something into the air and it exploded into a cloud of smoke.

Riza lowered the gun and closed her eyes for a few moments trying to calm down. Roy was still on his guard in case Abunai was still there and when the smoke cleared, he was nowhere to be seen.

He turned his attention back to Riza, "Let me see the wound Riza. I can't help you if I don't even know how serious it is." He said reaching out to her. She scooted away and shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, it's not really that bad. Besides, Maes is the one who needs medical attention right now. My wound can wait." She said firmly, getting to her feet. She walked over to where Maes' unconscious form lay.

Roy frowned at this but her followed her. They knelt down next to him and Riza confirmed that he was going to be alright.

"He'll be alright, he was only knocked out." She said and she sat back on her heels. Roy was relieved by this but he was still worried about Riza's own condition.

He wasn't able to put anymore thought into this as Havoc came shooting out of the door that Roy had come in earlier.

He ran over to them followed by 6 other soldiers, "Damn, what happened to you guys? Are you two alright?" he asked looking around at the destruction that was scattered everywhere.

"We'll be fine but we need to get Maes up to the infirmary." Riza said in her usualmonotone. Havoc nodded and left to get some of the soldiers he had brought with him to get Maes to the infirmary, leaving Roy and Riza alone.

He stepped up to her and tapped her good shoulder, "Maes is being taken care of, now we can get your wound looked at. Come on, we need to get back to the office anyways so we can give our statement on what happened." he said softly.

Riza didn't reply immediately, her eyes flickered to the burn on her shoulder and winced slightly. It hurt like hell and she knew that is was pretty bad but she didn't want Roy to know it was. She was still angry at him for even being there in the first place. He shouldn't have been involved.

She let her anger wash away the pain and sh whirled around and gave Roy an icy glare, "Why did you come? You were almost killed!"

Roy was a little taken aback by her reaction, "What? Of course I would come. Why--"

She interupted him mid-sentence, "Answer my guestion Roy. Why did you come? I am perfectly capable of taking care of him myself."

"I came because I was worried, excuse me if I want to protect my friend! Dammit Riza, what do you expect me to do when your life is threatened?! You know that I will not stand idly by while he tries to kill you!" he shouted. The whole argument was starting to get on his nerves. 'Why does she have to be so stubborn?!' he thought angrily.

She looked away, "Nevermind, let's get back to the office so we can go home." She said in a soft but firm voice. Without another word, she spun around and stalked off through the door.

Roy ran a hand through his hair and growled in frustration, "Dammit, now she's even more angry with me! How am I going to make it up to her now?" he said to no one in particular as he hurried to catch up with Riza.

The Office an Hour Later:

"Thank you Colonel Mustang, Lt. Hawkeye. We will look into this case and find out who this Abunai character is. Good day." The man from the investigations department said with a salute and left the office.

Roy wiped his face in exhaustion and glanced at Riza and his eye narrowed in concern. 'Something's wrong with her, she hasn't spoken practically at all since we've been here. Could it be that burn?' he asked himself.

Her eyes were closed and there was a thin layer of sweat on her forhead. Roy sneaked over to her side and pushed her bangs out of the way so he could feel her head and confirmed his suspicion; she had a fever. It was most likely caused by her burn and needed to be treated soon.

He pulled his hand away and thought about what he could do. He had burn remedies at home and he knew that Riza didn't want to go the doctors for help. She despised them just as much as he did.

'I have to get her home somehow…I've got it! Where did Havoc go?' he thought, scowling at the door. He looked back at Riza to see that her eyes were open and she was giving him a tired look.

"Good, you're awake. Riza tell me the truth, how bad is the burn? I need to know, you have a fever." His voice was gentle.

She turne her head away from him, not wanting to look at his face, "I haven't looked at it myself so I'm not sure how bad it is."

Roy cursed and picked up the phone and dialed the infirmary's number.

"_Infirmary, Kim speaking. How may I help you?" _ a woman answered.

"This is Colonel Mustang and I'm looking for Lt. Jean Havoc. Is he there?" Roy asked.

_"Please hold."_ She said and then the hold music was put on.

Roy tapped his fingers impatiently on the desk waiting for the woman to return.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the hold music stopped and a different voice answered, _"Havoc here, did you need something chief?"_

"Havoc, get your butt down here with your car. I need you to take Riza and I home." Roy said.

_"Why? Didn't you two walk here today?"_ Havoc asked.

He sighed, "Yes, but she has a fever and I'm not going to risk her collapsing in the middle of the street so get your ass down here! Meet us at the front in ten minutes."

_"Er right, see you soon then."_ Havoc said hanging up. Roy put the phone back and his gaze shifted back to Riza.

His expression softened when he saw that she was on her feet but she was shaking. This woman was indeed stubborn and Roy wouldn't have her any other way.

"Come on Riza, we're going to meet Havoc in the front so he can take us home." He said softly holding out his hand to her.

Her eyes narrowed, "Something tells me you're not going to let me _walk_ out of the building on my own are you?" she aasked.

Roy grinned, "Of course not, I'm going to give you a piggy-back ride. Now hop up." he said turning around so his back faced her and he knelt down.

Riza's face flushed even more (if that is even possible when you have a fever) but she also knew she wouldn't be able to make it down to the lobby without feinting so she didn't have any other choice.

She slowly made her way over to Roy and climbed onto his back. He took hold of her legs and stood up slowly lifting her up into the air.

Hayate barked at them and Roy smiled at the dog, "Ready to go Hayate?" the dog barked again in agreement.

Riza sighed, "Let's just go Roy."

"Yes ma'am." He smirked and walked out the door with hayate in the lead.

Otp: Ok important announcement here. I wil only be thanking the anon reviewers in the fic because there is no way I can thank them unless I do and I can reply to all of my other reviewers. If this causes any trouble then please tell me alright?

Roy: I don't give out horsey rides dammit

Riza: Oh yes you do. 'takes the 50 cens from a little girl and lets her jump up onto Roy's back'

Otp:…..Anyways happy Royai Day pplz and until next time c ya!


	12. Healing the Wounds with Love

Otp: Ok, I finished a lot in the past few days amazingly and I have bad sunburns as well….

Roy: Well, that's your fault for now putting more sunblock on

Otp: Oh shut up…..Anyways, not much of a blurb this time so here's the next chapter of Hunted for you!!!!

PS: Thank you MSD for helping me out with this chappy

Chapter 12 Healing the Wounds with Love

Roy Mustang walked down the busy hallways of Central HQ with a frown as he adjusted the weight of the woman on his back. He had just left his office carrying Riza on his back seeing that if he carrried her bridal style it would have agitated her burned shoulder.

Everyone they passed stopped and stared at the odd couple as they walked by with Hayate in the lead. Both Roy and Riza were annoyed by this so Roy picked up the pace so they would get out faster. Riza had buried her face into his shoulder to hide her embarrassment.

Finally, they made it to the sparsley populated atrium of HQ where they brethed sighs of relief. He slowed down a bit then turned his head towards her, "Sorry about that, I didn't know that _everyone_ would be out in the hallways…" he said a little peeved.

"I don't give a damn, I'm still going to shoot you." She said with a glower.

He chuckled nervously and strode out the doors and down the main stairs to wher Havoc stood waiting, leaning on the side of the car.

Havoc grinned when he saw them and he opened the back door so Roy could get Riza into the backseat. Hayate jumped in while Roy got Riza settled in and he got in after her.

He shut the door and waited for havoc to get in. Havoc sat in the drivers seat and turned around to give Riza a concerned look, "Is she going to be alright?" he asked.

"She'll be fine just drive Havoc." Roy ordered, drawing Riza closer to his body.

"Yes sir." Havoc said, putting the car in gear and they were off to Roy's house.

For the duration of the ride, Riza's shoulder burned and she was starting to feel a little lightheaded. She looked down at her shoulder and realized that you couldn't really tell where her shirt ended and the charred skin began. She reached up to touch the tender area only to flinch away from the pain.

Fortunately for her, Roy noticed her discomfort and ordered Havoc to go faster.

Soon enough, they had arrived at Roy's house. Roy had a few words with Havoc before he waved and drove off.

Black Hayate had already run up the steps to the porch and now he was scratching at the door.

Roy lifted Riza's good arm over his neck and his free hand held her waist to support her to the door.

He opened it and led her through the house to her bedroom and let her lie down on the bed, "Wait here while I go and get some supplies." He said walking out the room.

He headed towards the kitchen and rummaged through the cupboards looking for pain meds and bandages. Once he found those he strode into his bathroom to retrieve his specil burn ointment. Grabbing it from the shelf he went back to Riza's room.

Roy set the supplies on the nightstand and then he realized that he forgot a glass of water, "Why don't you take off your shirt while I…"

She interupted him mid-sentence, "Excuse me? What did you just say?" she asked icily.

"If we are going to treat that burn I'm going to have to…"

She interupted him again, "I'm not about to let you see me hald naked Roy. I'm confident that I can take care of the wound myself." She said avoiding his gaze.

"You have a fever and it's clouding your judgement so just let me help you alright? Besides, it's not like I haven't seen your back before." He said with a smirk and he ducked out of the room before she could protest.

Riza sighed knowing that she couldn't really argue with that last comment. She began to slowly take off her shirt and with a grimace saw how much damage had actually been done.

Her shirt was useless now and her bra had been destroyed. The skin was a raw red. She was still examining the burn when Roy returned with a glass of water.

"Why don't you lie down on the bed, it might be easier." He suggested coming and sitting next to her.

She shook her head and covered her front with tattered shirt and turned her back to him, "I think I'll be more comfortable sitting up thank you."

He merely nodded and picked up the ointment and rubbed some onto his hands. Then he began to apply it in gentle circles one the burn.

When he first touched her, she flinched but as he continued she began to relax. She fell prey to his expert hands and the warm tingling sensation that had nothing to do with the ointment.

Much to Riza's chagrin, Roy soon stopped his applications and she turned her head around to give him a questioning look, "What did you use? The burns don't hurt anymore."

He smiled, unrolling some of the bandages, "I made it myself and I call it my special all burn ointment. Now hold onto the end of this so I can wrap this up." he said handing her the end of the bandage.

She did as he said and he wrapped up the burn. When he was done, she turned around holding the shirt to her bosom, "Turn around so I can put my shirt back on." She said, making a cicrle motion with her hand.

One look at the tattered shirt and Roy deemed that it was not suitable, "No, you can't use that shirt anymore. It's beyond repair, give me a minute and I'll get you something better."

Before Riza could protest, Roy had already bounded off into his room to look for a shirt.

Roy soon came back with a large white shirt. He hands it to her and she takes it without a word while he turns around.

She pouts it on and tosses the old shirt onto the floor, "You can turn around now." She says and Roy turns, smirking and sits down next to her, close enough that their hips touched.

Riza ignores the smirk knowing exactly why he's smirking. Instead, she gives him a small smile, "Thank you for taking care of me…you really didn't have to."

"It's no problem." He said smiling warmly.

"I'm going to go and make some dinner." She said and she moved to get up when her shoulder begn to throb. The hand that was resting on her thigh tightened into a fist. Roy's hand moves to cover hers, "Are you alright Riza?" he asked in a concerned tone.

She looks up into his face, "Yes, I'm fine…" her smile is forced and a bead of sweat trails down her face.

Roy frowns and reaches up to her face and wipes the bead away with his thumb. He gazed into her eyes and discovered the truth. She _was_ in pain and seeing her in pain was unbearable and he had to make it better somehow.

He was drawn in by her eyes and he became lost and Riza was in the same position, drawn into the darkness of his eye.

Without realizing what was happening, they leaned in towards each other and they paused, their noses almost touching. Roy saw the hesitaion in her eyes and he carressed her cheek and smiled, "I can't hold back this time…"

Her eyes widen as Roy leans forward, closing the small gap between them.

Once Riza felt his lips on hers, she mlted. He nibbled gently at her lips, begging for entrance which she gave without hesitation. Their tongues began a complex dance with each other and…

"BARK! BARK!"

The moment was ruined and they pulled away to give the dog a glare. Roy curses under his breath, "Damn dog, he just had to go and ruin everything." Riza started to laugh at the pouty look on his face.

Soon she stopped laughing and her expression became serious, "…Why?" she asked softly. Roy smiled and pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist.

He rested her head on her un-injured shoulder and whispered into her ear, "Because I love you Riza."

Her eyes widened in surprise and she turned her head to look at him, "Did…did you just?"

Roy nodded, "I did so how do you feel about it?" he asked gazing deeper into her eyes.

She turned away from him and Roy's expression fell, thinking that she didn't feel the same. Then Riza shifted in his arms and faced him with a smile, "You idiot…did you think I would let just any man kiss me without being shot?"

He beamed, "True enough, or you would have shot me a long time ago." They smiled at each other and leaned in again.

"BARK! BARK!"

They pulled away again to look at the dog. Roy growled and Riza rolled her eyes, "Come on, I'm hungry." She said mvoing out of his arms to stand up.

Sh instantly began to feel dizzy and lightheaded and she fell back into Roy's arms. He chuckled lightly, "I think you should stay here and I will make us dinner. I'll be right back." He said getting up and kissing her on the forhead before he left the room.

Riza obliged and laid back down on the bed with a happy sigh. She knew having a relationship with him was wrong and went against everything she had fought for but she was in heaven right now and she wasn't coming down anytime soon.

'So her really _does_ feel the same…' she closed her eyes and smiled happily. Still in a world of bliss, she waited for Roy to return.

Roy was cooking up a storm in the kitchen and he was humming a merry tune as he stirred the soup. Hayate was already digging into his own bowl of food.

'I finally told her and she feels the same!' he thought elated.

He finished the soup and ladeled it into two bowls and grabbed two spoons heading back to Riza's room.

He walked in and she scooted over on the bed so he could lie down next to her.

"Here you go, I made you some chicken soup." He said handing one of the bowls to her. She took it and smiled.

"Thank you Roy." She gave him another little kiss on the lips before eating her soup.

Roy grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap, "So, what are we going to do about this? Us I mean."

"We won't do anything. I don't regret what's been done. I think we should just let this run its course." She said quietly.

He hugged her tighter, "I thought you might say something like that and I'll have you know, I have no regrets." He kissed her neck.

"Good, if you did I would shoot you." She said with a grin, taking a bite of her soup.

"Don't I know it, now eat up and then you should take those meds for your fever." He said.

She finished her soup and placed the bowl on the nightstand next to the meds and picked up the glass of water and the medication. She popped the pills into her mouth, following with a swig of water. She set the glass back down on the nightstand and began to fuss over the covers.

Roy watched in amusement as Riza tugged in vain at the covers which were stuck under his weight.

"You having a little trouble there Riza?" he asked jokingly.

She tugged again, "I'm cold and tired and we still have to go to work tomorrow. Now would you please move so I can get under the damn covers."

He got up and pulled the covers out and tucked her in with a kiss on the forhead, "Night love."

Just as he turned away to leave Riza had pulled him back down to the bed, "Excuse me, but I don't think I gave you permission to leave. So get your butt back her, I'm already starting to get drowsy."

Roy was only too happy to oblige and he got under the covers and his arms automatically went around her waist and she scooted closer to him.

"Night Roy." She said sleepily.

He smiled and kissed her head and took off his eyepatch. After he set it on the nightstand he closed his eye and fell into a peaceful slumber.

Otp: Extra fluffy YAY!!

Roy: 'grumbles' Stupid dog he ruined the moment

Riza: Oh calm down you still have a lot more chances

Roy: I do don't I…..

Otp: Whatever, I hope everyone likes this chappy so until next time C YA!!!!


	13. Fear

Otp: OMG!!!!!! I have over 200 reviews for this fic!!!!!! I'm sooooo happy!!!!!

Roy: ….How did you manage that?

Otp: Hard work and support!!!! Thank you everybody for supporting this ficcy!!!! I'm glad that everyone likes it…well mostly everybody XD!!

Riza: But moving on, the chapter…..

Otp: Oh that's right, here's the next chapter for Hunted!!!!

Chapter 13 Fear

Abunai's eyes glinted maliciously as he smiled down at the peacefully sleeping couple, "Tomorrow is the day I get my revenge my little bird." He laughed as he disappeared into the shadows of the buildings.

Roy almost fell off the bed at the deafening sound of the phone ringing in his ear. Riza awoke with a start beside him and looked around, alert.

"It's only the phone." Roy said reassuringly to Riza, reaching over and picking up the phone, "Mustang speaking."

_"Hey Roy! I heard that Riza got hurt is she ok?"_ Maes asked.

He sighed smiling slightly, "Yeah, she's fine Maes, but how are you doing? You were injured as well." He said with a small frown.

Riza let out a ywan and rubbed her eyes to rid herself of the remenants of sleep.

_"I'm so touched that you care! I'm glad she's alright,but that's not why I called." _Roy's frown deepened at Maes' tone.

"Has something else happened?" he asked glancing at Riza who also looked grim.

_"No, nothing like that. Today's the Alchemy Exam and we need you and Riza to come down here right away so we can go over our plans."_ Maes said.

Roy nodded, "Alright, we'll be down soon. Bye Maes." He said and hung up before Maes could get another word out.

"Is everything alright Roy?" Riza asked, touching his shoulder.

Roy smiled and covered her hand with his, "Yes, Maes just wanted us to come down to the office earlier so we can talk about the plans for the Exam's."

"Then we need to get ready." She said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"Hold up a minute Riza…" Roy said, catching her around the waist and pulling her into his lap.

She looked up into his face, "Roy? What…"

His grip on her tightened and he buried his head into her good shoulder, "I have a bad feeling Riza…something's going to happen today."

Riza's expression softened and she reached up and weaved his dark hair through her fingers, "Don't worry Roy, nothing is going to happen." She said in a soft, comforting tone.

Roy tried his best to believe her by the was unable to banish his uneasiness. He wasn't going to let her know this so he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before letting her go, "Thanks Riza, let's get ready to go." He said.

She smiled and handed him his eyepatch as she got up. He took it and stood up after her. She went to her closet and pulled out her uniform while Roy headed into his own room to change.

Riza put on her shirt after a quick glance at her bandaged shoulder. It barely hurt anymore and wondered what the hell Roy had put into his 'special' ointment. She pulled on her shirt and then she buttoned up her jacket.

After she put her hair up she walked out into the hallway. There was a bark by her feet and she looked down to find Hayate looking up at her with a pleading look. She smiled, "You hungry boy?"

He barked his agreement and she headed into the kitchen to get him some food. Roy came in a few moments later with their coats in his hands, "You ready to go?" he asked.

She nodded and walked over to him and he helped her into her coat. She returned the favor and they strode over to the door and Riza stepped out onto the porch.

The prickley sensation was back in full force and she knew _he_ was watching them. Her hand flew to her side where her gun was, "He's here." She said in a low tone.

"I noticed." Roy said as he locked the door. Riza saw a flash of white and red and knew that he had his gloves on.

They began to walk down the street, their eyes darting this way and that sweeping the area. Other then the few fleeting shadows they occasionally saw, their journey was uneventful.

The feeling only got stronger as they mounted the steps to HQ and only after they had arrived at their office did the feeling dissapate.

Before they had even touched the doors, they flew open and two muscled hands grabbed them and pulled them into the room and the doors slammed shut behind them.

They were 'tossed' onto the couch where they both sat there stunned, looking at the other people in the room.

Maes walked over to them after thanking Armstrong, who just sparkled happily.

"Sorry about that guys, I just asked him to pull you in here. Didn't think he would take it literally." He said adjusting his glasses.

Roy glared at Maes, "Armstrong takes everything to heart and everything literally and you know it." He grumbled. Everyone in the toom sniggered at his comment except Armstrong himself, who was too busy flexing to bother.

Riza rolled her eyes, "If we could get back to business here, boys," ther was a cough from the direction of Maria Ross. "Sorry Ross, boys and ladies."

"Hey!" Havoc protested.

"What? You want to be included in the ladies group Havoc?" Roy said, smirking.

"No, I want to be put with the men not the boys."

"Oh really? Could have…"

"BANG! BANG!"

Riza had grown tired of the argument and had fired a few warning shots at both Roy's and Havoc's feet, "Both of you need to stop arguing, we have more important things to deal with at the moment." She said sternly, re-holstering her gun.

Roy and Havoc nodded quickly and they sat back down. Maes cleared his throat, "Ahem, moving on, we have some security details that need to be run over. After the incident yesterday, it's clear that this 'Abunai' character is out to get Riza, so it's our top priority to ensure her safety."

"Since Roy and Armstrong are going to be conducting the exam, and Riza will of course be making sure Roy doesn't do anything stupid so they can't be watching for everything." He was smiling at Roy who didn't look very amused.

"That's why we're going to divide into a few different groups." He pulled out a piece of paper and adjusted his glasses again.

"There will be two main groups and two spotters. Havoc, Fuery, and Ross will be in Group 1. You guys will be watching the entrances and all of the exits. Breda, Falman, and Bloch are in Group 2. you get to roam around in the crowd. Sheska is the spotter for Group 2 and I get Group 1. Is that clear?" he asked, looking up from the paper.

Everyone nodded and Maes grinned, "Good! Then we're all set!"

Fuery raised his hand like he was in a classroom, "What exactly are we looking for sir?" he asked timidly.

"Excellent question Fuery, you are looking for a dangerous criminal. We don't have very much to go on but we know that he has violet eyes and a manic smile so look for anyone close." Maes replied.

"I've got another question sir," Ross said. "If we have spotters, what are the signals?"

"Another good question, let's see here…if you find someone that is just looking suspicious or acting strange then find your spotter and give them the hand sign for 'A'," he demonstrated. "If you actually find Abunai, use the hand sign for 'D'." Maes demonstrated again. he looked around, "Anyone else have any questions?"

His answer was silence so he rubbed his hands together, "Alright then, let's get this party started."

Roy stood up and gave the officers a firm command, "Be careful."

They saluted, "Yes sir!"

He gave them a small smile and Riza smiled warmly, "Thank you for everything." She said.

Armstrong beamed and rivers of tears streamed down his face, "The Armstrong family has always helped their friends in need!" he boomed.

Havoc grinned, "Well it's not as if we would leave you hanging." The others readily agreed. Riza flushed with embarrassment.

"Ok, everyone back to work!" Roy ordered ushing them out of the office. He shut the door behind him leaving himself, Riza, and Maes in the room.

He turned to them with a thoughtful expresssion, "What do we do now?" he asked, shrugging out of his coat and hanging it up.

"There's not much we can do but wait and watch,"Riza said sagely. She hung up her coat next to Roy's and leaned against her desk and crossing her arms across her chest.

Maes scratched his head, "We've done all we can." He looked at the clock, "Hey Roy, you're supposed to meet the Alchemists in 10 minutes."

Roy cursed and tugged at his gloves, "This is going to another fun day I can tell…" he said heavily.

"Don't worry about it Roy, we'll make sure nothing happens." Maes said, patting Roy on the shoulder. 'Then why do I have this feeling something _is_ going to happen?' he asked himself tersely.

Riza frowned when she realized that Roy was still worried about something. She made a split second decision and reached out, grabbing Roy's arm. "Come on Roy, we are not going to be late this time." Her tone was strict and Roy was a little surprised.

"But I don't have to be there yet…" he said, trying to pull himself free from her grip but to no avail. There was no escaping from this woman.

Maes was grinning from ear to ear, "So, when's the wedding?"

They both turned to glare at him, "Shut up Maes." They said together.

This only made his grin widen, "Aaaawwww, that's so cute! So, about the decorations…" he teased.

Riza rolled hre eyes, the man was impossible, "Sorry Maes but I've got to get Roy to that meeting without him being late for once." She said and she dragged Roy out the door and continued down the hall.

Soon, they had arrived at the meeting room door and she stopped, wheeling around to face Roy, "Spit it out Roy. What's bothering you?" she asked anxiously.

Roy turned away, "You already know what's bothering me Riza." He said.

"You still geel uneasy about this whole thing." she stated.

He nodded, "It just won't go away." He reached out and stroked her cheek, "I'm…I'm afraid Riza."

She tried to give him a reassuring smile and failed. She reached up and held his hand to her face, "I'm scared too Roy, but we are going to make it. I promise." Her hazel eyes were a myriad of emotions and there was a definate glint of fear.

He pulled her into an embrace, "I know, but I'm still uneasy."

Riza snaked her arms around his neck, "It's only natural." She said and then she kissed him. Roy tried to deepen it but Riza pulled away. "Come on, there'll be time for that later. It's time to go."

He sighed, "You're right as usual, alright, I'm ready." He said and they opened the door.

Otp: 'insert evil laugh' We are finally arriving at the climax!!!!!

Roy: Yeah and it took you how many chapters?

Riza: Roy…….

Roy: Yes dear?

Riza: Shut up.

Roy: Yes ma'am…

Otp: Whatever, hope you liked the chapter so until next time luvs you all so please review!!!!


	14. The Alchemy Exam

Otp: Ok guys sorry for the long wait but school started which means less writing time….

Roy: Ha! School is for wimps!

Riza: And idiots like you

Otp: I would personally love to see him take health 'insert evil grin'

Riza: 'insert matching evil grin' I think I might be able to convince Olivier to come and teach….

Roy: 'pales considerably and tries to run…..'

Olivier: I hear that I have to teach this mutt health. Well haul your ass off the floor and MOVE!!!!!!

Roy: Yes Ma'am!!!!

Otp: Haahahahahhaha……..ahem……anyways the next chapter to Hunted for ya!!!!!!

Riza: And she thanks all of the reviewers!!!!!

Chapter 14 The Alchemy Exam

Roy stepped into the room with Riza in tow. Her expression was grim and he was still extremely tense. The men waiting in the room all looked up when they entered. Some of them smiled nervously in their direction while others completely ignored their presence.

Soren, Atlas, and Raymond were fidgeting and they were obviously anxious. Rube only grunted up in seeing them and he went back to mumbling to himself.

Riza's eyes stopped on the last man, Grahm Aushwitz, and she frowned. Something was a little off about him. 'He's not nervous at all. He almost seems…smug about something.' She thought.

Unfortunately, she didn't have any time to dwell on the thought for Roy had cleared his throat. Her gaze shifted back to Roy and a flash of violet flashed across her vision.

Just as fast as it had come, it was gone again. She shook her head to rid herself of the odd feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. This sudden feeling unnerved her, it overwhelmed her senses for a few moments and she knew it didn't bode well.

"…good to see you all again." Roy's voice broke her trance and she focused her attention back to him, pushing aside her fear for the time being.

Riza's sudden odd behavior had not gone unnoticed by Roy and he was worried, 'I had better wrap this up quickly.' He thought.

He continued, "I am here to take you down to the exam and explain what you are going to have to do." His eye raked across the room

"Once I take you down, you will each be briefed about what your tasks will be. After you have been briefed, you will wait until your name has been called to begin your exam. Are there any questions?"

"What sort of tasks will we have to perform?" Soren asked.

Roy smiled at Soren, "I can't tell you that but I will tell you that they will test your alchemic control and your endurance."

Soren nodded his thanks and Roy waited to see if there were any more questions. When nobody spoke, he put on a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "Well, follow me and we can get started." He said.

He jerked his head at the door and Riza nodded her head and pulled it open. He walked out but not before he gave Riza a concerned look.

She shook her head slightly and gave him a look that said, "Not now." His frown deepened but he walked past her followed by Grahm, Raymond, Rube, Atlas, and Soren.

Riza closed the door after Soren and walked behind him.

He fell into step with her and smiled, "Lt. Hawkeye, it's nice to see you again. How is Hayate?" he asked.

"He's doing just fine, thank you for asking." She said with a tight smile.

Soren's brow furrowed, "Lieutenant, is something wrong?"

"Just a lot on my mind lately." She replied truthfully. She _did_ have a lot on her mind what with everything that was going on.

He wasn't convinced but he didn't push it.

Their procession continued to make their way down the hallways towards the courtyard where the exam was going to be held.

They stopped in font of a tent that was set apart from the arena where multitudes of targets were set up.

Roy lifted up the tent flap and ushered the contestants inside saying, "You are to wait here until someone comes in to explain what you are to do in your exam. Good luck men." He said and he let go of the tent flap and turned to Riza.

"Come with me for a moment," he said holding out his hand to her.

She reached out and took his and he led her to a deserted area close by and looked her in the eye, "What did you see in that room Riza?" he asked softly.

Riza hesitated before she buried her face in his jacket, embracing him, "I saw something violet flash before my eyes, and they looked exactly like Abunai's. I'm not even sure if it was really there or not it was gone so fast."

He wrapped his arms around her, "I don't think you would imagine something like that. I think your stalker was in that room, I'm sure of it." He almost growled. "I can't wait to get my hands on him."

Riza pulled away slightly to look into his face, she managed a small smile and she reached up and touched his cheek, "I think you're right Roy, we'll just have to be on our guard." She said gently, pulling his face down to hers and kissing him.

He broke the kiss and tucked a loose strand of hair back behind her ear, "We had better get going; they might come looking for us."

"I know but—"

"Is _the _Riza Hawkeye putting duty on hold? That's a first." He chuckled.

She pushed him away and stalked off, "Oh shut up _sir_."

Roy grinned and caught up to her, "You can't order me around. I outrank you." He said smugly.

A most un-Riza like smirk crept onto her face, "Oh can't I? Hasn't stopped me from knocking you on your ass a few times. Do you really think I am above insubordination?" she challenged, her eyes twinkling.

He grinned, holding his hands up in defeat, "I give; you've saved my ass how many times due to insubordination?"

She cocked an eyebrow, "Do you really want to know how many?"

Before Roy could reply, Maes was running towards them, "Hey! There you two are, come on! The exam is about to start!" he said frantically grabbing their arms and dragging them towards the arena and up onto a podium in front of a large audience.

He pushed them onto the stage where Armstrong and Scieszka were waiting but not before he whispered, "Everyone is in position, good luck."

Riza quickly took her place two steps behind Roy while he made his way to the podium. He cleared his throat and addressed the crowd, "Welcome to the State Alchemist Exam. Today we have five candidates but only two will be given a silver pocket watch and a state alchemist title. They will be required to make their way through two challenges that will test their skills with alchemy, their ability to control it, and their endurance." The crowd roared.

They quieted when he raised his hand for silence, "Now I will introduce our first candidate, Soren Quan!"

Soren walked out and smiled at the crowd as he strode over to stand in front of the podium and Roy.

Roy smiled down at Soren, "Now I will let Major Armstrong tell you about your task. Good luck." He said stepping back to stand next to Riza. He frowned, reached up to his eye patch and adjusted it. Riza noted his movement with a frown.

They turned back to listen to Armstrong, "Mr. Quan you will have three minutes to destroy all of the targets that are set up before you but be aware that there will also be target that are fashioned to look like bystanders. If you hit one you will get ten seconds added to your final time. If you overshoot your time limit you will be disqualified." Armstrong declaimed proudly.

Soren nodded and whipped out his sword, "I am ready." He stated confidently.

Armstrong positively sparkled, "Then begin!"

Soren sprang into action and lunged at the opposing targets with gusto, being careful to avoid the ones that were fashioned to look like civilians.

He sliced his way through the targets turning them into two different materials as he went. His movements were fluid and controlled as he swung his sword every which way in graceful arcs.

The crowd cheered loudly, watching Soren make quick work of the targets. By the time he had finished he was panting and drenched in sweat, but he was smiling triumphantly.

He lowered his sword and looked up at the giant clock that had his final time on it: 0:23. Soren had made it with seconds to spare.

By now the crowd was going wild and applauding Soren's performance. He grinned back up at where Armstrong still stood beaming down at him.

"Well Mr. Quan, congratulations. You have passed the first task within the time limit and without any penalties. Take a break and wait for the next task in the tent to my left." Armstrong gestured to his left, sparkling.

Soren bowed and he made his way to the aforementioned tent.

Roy leaned towards Riza, "I really, _really _hope it's not him." He said.

Riza just nodded and glanced towards Maes and Scieszka, who were scouring the crowd for the others.

Maes caught her look and winked. So, they hadn't spotted anything yet.

She sighed and turned her attention back to the exam. At the moment, some other military personnel were cleaning up the arena and getting it all set up for the next applicant. People were muttering excitedly among the crowd as they waited anxiously for Armstrong to announce the second challenger.

Once the arena was once again set up Armstrong spoke, "And now, I welcome Mr. Rube Thrift!"

Both Roy and Riza zeroed in on the short, stocky man as he trudged onto the field. Armstrong began the same speech that he had used for Soren and Rube didn't look as if he was really paying any attention.

Roy sat back in his chair, fiddling with his eye patch once again and Riza crossed her legs. Both of them were thinking the same thing, 'This is going to be interesting…'

Rube grunted and his body became covered in armor and he turned towards the first target and Armstrong signaled the start and Rube was off thundering towards the target.

He crashed through it and didn't stop. He only continued to rumble through the next one in his path. He continued to crash his way through EVERY target on the field and he only came to a stop after he hit one of the barricades between the arena and the crowd.

Riza was having a trouble keeping her face straight as Roy whispered something about, "A pounding headache." They knew exactly how this was going to end, especially since Rube was smashing through not only the targets he was supposed to but the civilian ones as well.

Soon it was all over and Armstrong stood up clearing his throat, "That was a most…exuberant display of power Mr. Thrift. You took out _every_ target and under the time limit. Unfortunately, in destroying all of the targets, you also hit all of the civilian ones. This adds to your final time a minute and forty seconds, bringing it to three minutes and fifty seconds." He continued in a grave tone. "I am sorry to say that you are disqualified from the Alchemy Exam."

Rube's face turned red and he stormed off the field cursing loudly and pushing people out of his way as he went.

Roy was smirking, "Serves him right after all the things he did to you."

Riza smiled as well, "I couldn't agree more."

The exam went on, Raymond Shurk barely made it to the next round, and Atlas was disqualified. Now they had finally come to the last candidate in the first task. Grahm Aushwitz was given the speech and the signal to begin.

Grahm never moved from where he stood and he shot all of the targets with his bow, excluding all the civilian ones and in less than two minutes. Needless to say, the crowd ate it up with gusto and Roy and Riza were impressed.

"Excellent! Wonderfully done Mr. Aushwitz, you have broken the arena record by fifty seconds! I must say I am deeply impressed." Armstrong boomed approvingly.

Grahm bowed, "Thank you Major Armstrong."

Now Roy and Riza stood up and approached the podium, "Ladies and gentleman! That concludes the first part of the exam. We now have a thirty minute interlude before we begin the second part of the exam." He said and stepped down from the podium and approached the three finalists.

Riza closely followed him and he scratched his eye again before scrutinizing the three before him, "Congratulations to you all, you can go and rest up in the tent you were in earlier and we will call you when it's time to begin the second task. You are dismissed."

The three men saluted and headed off towards the tent.

Riza had noticed that Roy had been fidgeting with his eye patch a lot during the exam and she was concerned. She tapped him on the shoulder, "Roy, you've been messing with your eye patch all day. Is something wrong?" she asked.

Roy smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, it's actually been bothering me for a while now. I think I'll go back up to the office and put some ointment on it." He said reaching up to lightly touch his eye patch.

"Well then, let's go up before the next segment begins." She said calmly taking his arm and leading him away from the crowd.

"Hey, where are you two going?" they turned to find that Maes had caught up to them.

Roy shrugged, "My eye has been bothering me all day so we're going up to my office to put some ointment on it."

A sly grin crept onto Maes' face, "Alright, but make sure you're back before the next task starts. Don't let me keep you!"

"Don't worry Maes; we will be back in time." Riza said, turning away and pulling Roy towards the main building again.

They arrived at the office and Roy went over to his desk and rummaged through a drawer looking for his ointment. Riza had come over to his side, not hesitating to reach over and pull off the eye patch.

He flinched as she did so, but handed her the ointment. She took it and began to carefully apply it to the irritated skin around his eye.

"How many times has this happened before Roy? I know this doesn't happen very often." She said, impulsively giving his eye a kiss before handing back the eye patch.

Roy quickly replaced the eye patch before answering her, "It hasn't done this since the day Ed came back and it never bothered me this much when it did."

She frowned, "Never this bad?"

He shook his head, leaning into her, "Never, I'm starting to think that it's a predictor of sorts." He pulled away and grasped her hands in his. "This only makes me even more nervous."

Her expression softened and she pulled him into an embrace, "Then we'll just have to be extra careful. Now we better hurry back down Roy." She said pulling away from him.

He pulled her back down into his lap and caught her lips with his in a passionate kiss that took her breath away. She thoroughly enjoyed it and she regretted having to cut it short.

She pulled away from him, breathless and slightly flushed, "Roy…we can finish this later. Right now we need to get back."

He groaned, "Why did I have to fall in love with the most stubborn woman in Amestris?"

Riza chuckled, "You wouldn't have me any other way, now move!" she ordered playfully pushing him out the door and back towards the arena.

Otp: Wow that took me longer than I expected

Riza: ….

Roy: …

Otp:Whatever, MY BIRTHDAY IS ON FRIDAY SO WHHEEEEEE!!!!!! I hope all of you liked the chapter and I am deeply sorry for the long wait……Please review!!!!!

And thank you MSD for correcting all of my funny mistakes...which were a lot...Luvs ya Pooter!!!!!!!


	15. Foreboding thoughts and Despair

Otp: Hey everyone! What's up? I have finally updated!! OMG I am so happpyyyyy!!

Riza: It's about freaking time…

Roy: Yeah, I'll say. You haven't updated since(randomly hit in the head with flute case)

Otp: ….Anyways, here's the next chapter of Hunted for you all to enjoy XD

Chapter 15 Foreboding Thoughts and Despair

The second half of the Alchemy Exam went just as smoothly as the first half. After Raymond Shurk had failed, there had been only two competitors left. Soren Quan and Grahm Aushwitz were the final victors and the new State Alchemists.

"Congratulations to the both of you and welcome to the military. You will be assigned to a superior officer in a little while. For now, you can go and celebrate your accomplishment." Roy said, smiling down at the two men.

Grahm had a happy grin on his face as he snapped to attention and gave Roy a salute, "Thank you sir."

Soren bowed, "Indeed, you have my thanks as well." Roy nodded to them both and sent them on their way.

Soon they were swallowed by a crowd of people showering them with congratulations and guiding them towards the main building. Now that the exam was over, people had already begun to leave. Armstrong, Maes and the others had already left with the group that was with Soren and Grahm. This left Roy and Riza alone.

Roy stepped down from the podium and sighed in relief, "Thank God, it's finally over. I thought it would never end." He said, slumping into the chair next to Riza.

She patted him on the shoulder, "This part may be over but now we have to go back to the office to give Soren and Grahm their assignments. It's not over yet." She said with a small smile.

He groaned. Just what he needed; more work. But that wasn't the only thing that was bothering him. The foreboding feeling that he had been having all day hadn't disappeared. It has actually gotten worse and this worried him.

While he was thinking about this problem, Riza had stood up and she was now waiting for him at the edge of the stage. She was tapping her foot impatiently. "Come on Roy, we might as well get this done fast. After that, we can go home." She said.

Roy snapped out of his thoughts and stood up, "Yeah, you're right. Let's head over to the office and finish up." He said, walking over to stand by her side.

With that, they were off to their office. They walked on in silence and Riza turned her head slightly to gaze intently at Roy.

He was frowning, his shoulders were tense, and his hands were stuffed in his pockets. He was thinking about something.

She frowned, 'He has been like this all day and he hasn't said anything. What is bothering him so much?' she wondered. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened today and they hadn't seen anything suspicious either.

These thoughts buzzed through her head along with many others until she could no longer take it anymore.

She stopped walking and grabbed Roy's shoulder, forcing him to stop. He turned and gave her a surprised look

Her eyes bored into his and he mentally cringed, he knew what was coming.

"You've been acting weird all day Roy. Nothing happened today and we haven't seen anything either so why are you still so tense?" she asked.

He sighed, he didn't have any idea what to tell her. He had already mentioned that he had been that he had been feeling uneasy about the exam but, now it was over. What else could possibly happen? He honestly had no idea and he didn't particularly want to think about it either.

"I honestly have no idea. I thought, now that the exam is over the feeling would just go away. Only, it just keeps getting worse." He said, pulling his hand out of his pocket and scratching his head.

"You still think that something is going to happen?" she asked softly, fearing his reply.

He nodded, "I don't think that his original plan was to attack during the exam. I think he was going to attack at another time afterwards but, I'm not sure. Either way, I don't think we should let our guard down for a moment."

Now it was Riza's turn to think. What else could they do? They didn't know what the guy looked like or when he would attack. They were just like sitting ducks. She didn't know what could happen and she didn't want to imagine anything happening either.

Roy shook his head, bringing Riza back to the present, "It doesn't matter, we can't do anything about it right now. Let's just hurry up and finish those assignments and get home before something does happen." He said, with a small smile.

His smile gave her some courage and she nodded in return, "Yes, sir."

That said, they continued down the path to the office, the atmosphere slightly more relaxed than before.

Once they had climbed the stairway, they could hear the commotion from inside their office.

"Did they really get drunk that fast?" Riza asked, slightly annoyed.

Roy shrugged, "I have no idea, but we need to get into that room in any case."

She nodded and they headed towards the door. They stopped in front of it looking at each other for support. After another awkward glance at Riza who shrugged, he opened the door.

Their ears were quickly assaulted by the sound of people laughing and drinking merrily. They looked around and saw all of their friends there enjoying themselves and conversing with everyone else. The only person that wasn't enjoying themselves was Fuery. He was huddled in a corner with Hayate trying to get away from the commotion.

Riza almost cursed, 'We're never going to get anything done if they're like this. It's going to be impossible.' She though angrily.

Fortunately, she didn't have that much time to dwell on this thought for Roy had stepped forward. He stood there for a moment and took a deep breath and released, "ATTENTION!!"

Almost immediately, everyone stopped what they were doing and focused on Roy. Riza's eyes widened, impressed.

'That was unexpectedly easy…' she thought before she turned her attention to what Roy was going to say.

He cleared his throat, "Thank you. I came here to get some work done so I could go home but since you guys started a party here, it's not very easy for me to do. So, for the next few minutes I would greatly appreciate it if you would all shut it."

There were a few nervous nods of acknowledgement and Roy smiled. He walked over and sat down at his desk with Riza close behind. He pulled out a pen and two pieces of paper. Then he looked around the room, "Soren and Grahm, get over here." He ordered.

The two men quickly obeyed and stood in front of his desk, waiting for him to address them further.

Roy had started to scribble on one of the sheets of paper. Not looking up from what he was doing, he spoke, "Grahm Aushwitz, you are hereby placed under Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes as a Major." He finished the first sheet of paper and handed it to Grahm. Then he began to write up the second sheet.

"Soren Quan, you will be serving under me as a Major." He handed the sheet to Soren.

"You two understand?" He asked, folding his hands on his desk.

They nodded, "Yes sir."

He smiled, "Good, then we shall see you at 0700 hours tomorrow." He said, standing up and shaking their hands.

After that he turned to Riza, "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

She nodded and followed him to the door. She snapped her fingers and Hayate trotted over to stand by her leg. Roy stopped in the doorway and turned to the occupants of the room, "Carry on." He said, quickly closing the door behind him as he left. The moment he closed the door everyone went back to the party as if nothing had happened.

Roy smiled at Riza, "That was easier than I thought it would be."

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say, let's just get home." She said, smiling.

"Of course, whatever my Lady wishes." He said with a flourish.

She laughed and they headed home for the night.

A few minutes later, someone emerged from the office with an eerie grin on his face. He looked up and down the hallway before he moved in the direction that the couple had taken not long ago.

He had reached the main door when he was stopped by someone calling out to him.

"Brother? Why do we have to do this?" Grahm Aushwitz asked coming to his brother's side.

Soren turned and gave his brother an innocent smile, "Why? Why because she must pay for what she's done to you. I will not allow her to get away with it."

Grahm frowned, "I know that, but I don't want to do this anymore. I don't care about her anymore, let's just go."

His brother snapped, "Don't care anymore do you? Even when you were the one asking me for help in the first place? You hypocrite, there's no stopping me now. I will finish what you started!" he spat.

"No, I will not allow you to do anymore harm Greg. I started this and I will make amends for what I have done!" Grahm said forcefully, launching himself at his brother.

Greg laughed, "That's where you're wrong little brother, I will be the one to finish this and you can sit back and watch the end."

He easily dodged Grahm and knocked him out with the flat of his blade. Grahm crumpled to the ground and Greg towered over him. He took off his wig and got rid of his colored contacts and raised his head to reveal his violet eyes. He looked down at his brother and smiled, "Sleep tight little brother and don't let the bed bugs bite."

Then, without looking back, he disappeared out the door and into the oncoming darkness.

Roy and Riza were about a block away from the house when Hayate stopped and started to growl at something behind them.

"What are you barking at Hayate?" she asked, turning around to find out.

"You!!" she said angrily, whipping out her guns. Roy was soon standing in front of her with his fingers ready to snap.

Greg clapped his hands together, "Oh, so you do remember me. What a pleasant surprise."

"As if I could forget, you bastard." Riza stated through gritted teeth.

"True, but I can't stay for long and chat this time I'm afraid. So I'm here to pick you up." He said, smiling.

"Like hell you are! I won't let you anywhere near her." Roy said in a dangerous tone.

"I see, how bout we play a game. Ever heard of capture the flag?" he said and he rushed towards them. They dove out of the way and Greg shot past them. He laughed, "Yes, this should be a fun little game to play."

He stopped and drew out a few throwing knives, but before he had a chance to let them fly Roy had snapped and a torrent of flame was headed his way as well as bullets from Riza. He dodged these easily and ran around them, throwing the knives at the same time.

They dodged them but once the knives hit the ground they exploded, covering the area with smoke.

"Damn! I can't see anything. Riza? Where…" Roy called out but stopped when he heard her.

"Let go of me you sick bastard!" she yelled.

Roy shot off to where he thought he had heard her voice when he heard another one.

"Now, now we can't have that. Time for you to take a little nap." Roy heard a thump and he started to panic.

Then the smoke cleared for a moment and Roy saw Greg picking an unconscious Riza off the ground and throwing her over his shoulder. With a cry of rage, Roy ran towards him, hell bent on stopping him from taking Riza.

He lifted his hands to strangle the man but his hands closed on nothing but air. He stopped and looked around frantically but saw nothing in the clearing smoke.

"You were just a little too late Flame. What a pity. If you want to save the girl then you'll have to find me." The voice came again and Roy tried to locate its source but to no avail.

"Come back here and fight you coward!!" Roy called, the only thing on his mind was if Riza was alright.

"Maybe next time and don't worry, I'll take good care of her for you." His laugh began to fade and the smoke cleared.

Roy, realizing what had just happened, fell to his knees and punched the ground. "Dammit…Riza…where are you?"

Otp: Well, there you have it. A very nice cliff hanger with some angst on the side. Yay!!

Well, I hope everybody liked it and I really hope I update soon. But hey, feel free to leave me a review!! Luvs, hugs and pocky to everyone!!


	16. Waking Up to the Enemy

Otp: Ugh, it's been so freaking long…

Otp: Ugh, it's been so freaking long…. I'm sorry I haven't updated for a while I've had a lot of things going on…again!!

Roy: But this time she's got two chapters coming out for ya!

Otp: yes indeed, I have two chapters for ya and both are ready but I will post the next one on Royai day. So, please enjoy this chappy and review!!

Chapter 16 Waking up to the Enemy

Roy spent the next few minutes taking out his rage on the pavement.

"Why," _thump_. "Did I," _thump_. "Let this," _thump_. "Happen!" _crack_. He visciously cursed himself as he pounded the pavement without mercy. He only stopped when he heard the cement crack. His breathing was labored as he slowly lifted his hand to his face. He winced as he unclenched his bleeding knuckles.

Rage gone, he fought to hold back the tears as a wave of guilt took hold of him. Why couldn't he protect her? Why did he allow this to happen? How was he going to get her back? Why was she gone? Where had she been taken? Was she hurt? So many questions but no answers and Roy wanted answers.

His guilt and despair quickly gave way to anger and frustration. He slowly stood up, his form shaking slightly. He stood silent, sifting through what he knew. He had no idea where Greg had taken Riza to and he had no idea where to begin to look. They only definate thing Roy knew was that Greg was going to pay _dearly_ for what he had done.

There was only one place that he could go to now for help, so he started to walk bak to HQ. Roy had been so preoccupied by his thoughts that he failed to notice the shadow that was quickly catching up to him. He realized the danger a tad too late.

The man was upon him with a smelly rag over his nose and mouth. Roy's world began to fade when he heard the whisper, "I know where she is." Before he completely blacked out.

THIS IS THE DIVIDER. SEE IT, LIVE IT, BE IT!!

Riza awoke to find herself bound to a chair in a dimmly lit room. The only source of light was coming from the holes in the window. She blinked a few times waiting for them to adjust to the gloom. The back of her head hurt like hell and she was slightly dizzy. She closed her eyes again and waited for the dizzy spell to pass before she examined her surroundings.

She was in a sparcely furnished room with a battered table littered with miscellanious food items, a rumpled sleeping bag, two chairs, and a square like object covered in a sheet. She sat in one of the two chairs.

"Good, you're awake." Said the shadow in the other chair.

Riza's eyes narrowed as she gave the man icy glare.

He chuckled and she heard him strike a match. The room was soom filled with a flickering orange glow as he lit a candle.

The man who was known as Soren Quan sat in front of her with his arms crossed and a smug smile plastered on his face.

"Who are you and…" she stopped when she heard a soft whine come from the squarish object in the corner. She turned her head towards the object then back to Greg. "Lift that sheet." She said in a sharp tone.

Greg didn't reply, but he smiled and walked over and pulled off the sheet. Riza gasped and her blood boiled. The sheet covered a cage that held a whimpering Black Hayate. He had a leather strap tied around his snout and he was pawing at it trying to get it off.

"You bastard! What did you do to him! I swear if you hurt him I'll…" she growled angrily.

He laughed, "You'll what? Kill me? I don't really think that you're in any position to make threats Miss Hawkeye." He said nonchalantly. That made Riza back down a little. He was right she wasn't exactly in the best position to be threatening him. She bowed her head in mock defeat as she watched Greg closely, waiting for her chance.

"At least take the halter off. Please, I'll make sure that he doesn't bark." She said softly. She had an idea that might get Hayate out so he could find Roy.

He gave her a calculating look before he smiled again, "Alright, I'll humor you since you asked me so nicely." He said. He bent down to open up the cage as Riza moved her foot into position right behind him.

Hayate growled or tried to once Greg got close and Riza shook her head at Hayate, telling him it was ok. Greg finally found the right key and inserted it into the lock.

'Just a little more…' Riza thought. She heard the lock click and she kicked out. "Run Hayate! Find Roy!" she yelled as Greg lost his balance and Hayate shot out of the cage and out the door before he could do anything to stop him.

Greg recovered quickly and his hand came out of nowhere and slapped her, "You bitch! I was going to be nice but you just changed my mind." He smiled as she winced at the stinging of her cheek. "I think I'll leave you here to think about what you've done while I go hunt down your mutt." He picked up a sword by the door and headed out.

She knew Hayate wouldn't be caught but his words didn't fail to penetrate her already spinning head. She closed her eyes, 'Please Hayate, find Roy and bring him here.' She prayed silently, waiting anxiously in the darkness.

THIS IS THE DIVIDER. SEE IT, LIVE IT, BE IT!

"Hey wake up. We don't have much time."

Roy opened his eye slowly, blinking rapidly in the light. "What?" he asked groggily, sitting up.

"We have to get Riza." The voice said again.

This comment shot through Roy and he was instantly on his feet, "Where is she? Where did they take her?" he asked the man sitting quietly in a chair next to him. His eye widened as he recognized him.

"Grahm Aushwitz." He stated simply.

Grahm nodded, "Yes."

"You were the one who drugged me?"

He nodded again.

"What do you know?"

"Everything."

Roy snarled, "How do you know everything?"

Grahm took a deep breath, "Because I am the one who is after Riza."

Roy snapped and grabbed Grahm's shirt and dragged him closer, "Then you know where she is. Tell me where she is!" he demanded, shaking Grahm.

He looked away, "I will tell you everything but…"

He stopped and looked at the door with surprise. Roy followed his gaze and heard it. There was a frantic scratching at the door accompanied by muffled whuffs.

The two men looked at each other then at the door again. Roy frowned and let go of Grahm, "You stay here, I'll go see what it is." He said and he strode cautiously towards the door. He grasped the handle, turned the knob, and pulled the door open.

A black and white blur shot into the room and Roy quickly shut the door. He turned to find Black Hayate wagging his tail frantically and pawing at Roy's leg.

"What the? Hayate?" Roy said and bent down to scratch the dog behind the ears when he noticed that leather strap that was tied around Hayate's snout. He frowned and quickly removed it.

Grahm looked on with curiosity, "Isn't that Riza's dog?" he asked.

Roy picked Hayate up but the dog instantly began to struggle and Roy was forced to let him go. He watched in confusion as the dog went right back to the door and scratched at it and barked.

Grahm had stood up and joined Roy by this point. His arms crossed, "I think he wants us to follow him." He said.

Roy turned to Grahm, "You mean he knows where Riza is?"

He nodded, "Yes, while you were knocked out I went to our old base to see if he was there but he apparently had moved. I had no idea where he had taken Riza."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go and get her!" Roy stated angrily and he threw open the door and raced off after Hayate before Grahm could protest. Not wanting to be left behind, Grahm quickly gave chase.

Otp: ok for some reason by the end of this chapter I decided that I was going to change the next chapter a bit…. Urgh. Anyways I hope you all liked that chappy, though it was a bit on the short side. Leave me a review so until next time: Luvs, Hugs, and Pocky for you all!!


	17. Imperfect Timing

Otp: Alright now pplz

Otp: Alright now pplz!! I am sorry I couldn't keep the promise I made in the last chapter but hopefully you will forgive me after this one. The next chpater after this will be the final chapter of Hunted.

Roy: OMG, is it truly ending?

Otp: Yes, it is

Riza: What fic will you be working on after this one?

Otp: Good question, I will be finishing up A Demon's Heart. I am sorry to those of you who want me to finish A Diamond in the Rough first but I have more ideas for A Demon's Heart

Roy and Riza: TT

Otp: Anyways on with the fic! And special thanks to MSD for making me realize I had the plan in my head the whole time LOL. Hope you enjoy this chappy!!

Chapter 17 Imperfect Timing

Grahm and Roy raced through the streets after Hayate. They darted around corners and shot past confused onlookers as they traveled deeper into the city. Both men were gasping for breath after a while and were forced to stop.

They skidded to a stop in an alley and slumped against the wall, trying to catch their breath.

Roy wiped the sweat from his face and tried to calm his racing heart. After taking a few calming breaths, he turned to look at Grahm. Grahm was in worse shape than Roy was. He was breathing heavily and clutching the stitch in his side. His hair was wet and stuck to his face.

It was the perfect time to wrangle some answers from him while he wasn't in much of a condition to argue. Still panting, Roy asked, "So…why were…you after Riza?"

Grahm's voice was hoarse and ragged, "She…abandoned me." He replied.

"What do you mean?" Roy asked, his breathing less laborious.

"She left me…for you."

"Me?" Roy asked, intrigued. This wasn't what he had expected.

Forcing himself to smile, Grahm elaborated, "Yes, she left me because of you," he closed his eyes. "She used to be my best friend before you came along. We were almost inseperable after we met. I thought what we had could never be taken away." His expression became morose.

"I was so naïve to think that it would last," he sighed. "When we were 12, she told me that her father was taking on a new student and that she wouldn't be able to see me very often anymore.

"At first, I didn't mind because I understood what her father was like and that her time would be occupied by her other duties. Then, I saw her with you. She was smiling and laughing just like she did when she was with me. It made me angry and jealous. I confronted her about it and you know what she told me?" he almost chuckled, tears poking out of the corner of his eyes. "She told me how wonderful you were, how smart and kind you were, how bloody perfect you were. I cracked and I told her that I loved her. She turned away from me and said that she was sorry that she couldn't return my feelings for her and then she left. I never saw her again after that." He covered his face with his hand, his shoulders shaking.

Roy listened intently to his tle, his expression devoid of emotion. This man had suffered much and the cause of the suffering was him. Roy knew that no amount of condolences or apologies would do nothing to console Grahm's pain.

Grahm sniffed loudly and wiped his eyes, "I did all this to get revenge for for doing that to me but now…I can't bring myself to follow through," he gazed at Roy. "I only ever wanted her to be happy. I realize now, that she _is_ happy, I was just too blind to see it until it was too late."

They remained silent for a few moments when Roy held out his hand to Grahm, "I won't say that I'm sorry. It was never my intention to take her away from you, it just happened. That doesn't really matter at the moment but, right now, she's being taken away from both of us. We can't waste anymore time, we have to get her back," he smiled. "Friends?" he implored.

Grahm looked at Roy's outstretched hand for a moment before taking it with a grin, "Friends. You're right, I will not stand by while she is taken away again."

"Good." Roy said happily. He let go of Grahm's hand and turned to look for Hayate.

Hayate was sitting at the end of the alley, his tail wagging and anxious to get going.

"Lead on Hayate." He called out and the dog was off once more with Roy and Grahm close behind.

It wasn't long before they arrived at their destination. Hayate stopped in front of an old, abandoned factory. It was obvious from its condition that he had been abandoned for years.

The doors were boarded up tight, the windows were smashed and some covered with boards. The paint was faded and peeling in many places. The sign had fallen long ago and its paint faded, worn, and chipped lay in a heap by the front doors.

The property itself wasn't in the best condition either. Broken crates were scattered haphazardly throughout the area and loose debri covered the parched ground.

"What a dump." Roy stated offhandedly, looking around with a frown. Grahm nodded in agreement.

Roy's eye raked the building, "We should take cover somewhere. You never know if he might be watching us." He said.

"Right." Grahm replied. Roy picked up Hayate and followed Grahm behind a pile of broken crates.

Once they were settled, Grahm glanced at Roy, "Alright, so what's the plan?" he asked.

Roy scratched his chin in thought, "I have an idea. Here's what we'll do…"

--

Riza glared at Greg, her eyes never leaving his form as he circled around her. Her mobility had been greatly limited ever since Greg had retunred from his hunt for Hayate. The moment he got back, he tied her legs to the chair. Now she was only able to move her neck.

He circled again and stopped behind her, "I regret not being able to find that troublesome mutt of yours. I had a few ideas for putting him out of his misery."

She closed her eyes, '_Just shut up you bloody bastard_.' She thought, trying to ignore his taunts. She could almost see him smiling.

She felt him move closer and her whole body tensed as she gazed at the door in front of her. She could feel his fetid breath on the back of her neck and she shuddered. Greg grinned, "I wonder what could've happened to the poor whelp. What if he didn't find that Colonel of yours? Oh, maybe he got ran over by a car. Hmmm, or maybe—"

"Shut up." she snarled through gritted teeth. She wouldn't let him dash her hopes, she would stay strong.

He chuckled and whispered into her ear, "Oops, looks like I got a little carried away. I'll talk about something else then." He moved away and stood in front of her and she looked away.

He leaned forward and grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him. "Such a pretty thing, no wonder my brother wanted you so much." He said thoughtfully. Riza jerked her head out of his grasp and glared defiantly at him.

Greg laughed again, "Fiesty aren't you? Well, we'll see just how fiesty you are when I kill that flame boy of yours." Her glare only intensified.

He leaned in close again, "Maybe I'll let you watch. What do you think of that my little bird?" he asked, smirking.

Riza didn't feel like replying so she spat in his face. The smile vanished and was replaced by a look of rage, "Why you little bitch!" he raised his hand to strike and Riza prepared herself for the blow.

But it never came. She looked up to see Grahm holding back Greg's hand. "Hey, leave some for me brother." He said grinning as he released his brother's arm.

Greg lowered his arm slowly, gazing at his brother with suspicion, "What are you talking about? I thought you didn't want to do this anymore." He said. Riza looked on in confusion. What were they talking about?

Grahm shrugged, "I was being stupid, I'm better now. Can you forgive me for losing sight of out goal?" he asked.

Riza's attention on the men was distracted by a movement by the door. It was Roy! He had used Greg's conversation as a distraction so he could get into the room unseen.

He looked at her and winked as he moved cautiously closer to her. Not wanting the men to notice him, she turned her attention back to their conversation. He made his way around her chair and began to untie her hands.

Greg smiled at last and embraced his brother, "I'm a forgiving man brother, there was never anything to apologize…" he paused, a sudden movement in Riza's direction caught his attention.

He had seen Roy and Greg pulled away from Grahm, drawing a gun as he moved towards them, "You! Get away…" There was a loud thump as Greg slumped to the floor, unconcious.

Grahm stood over him with one of Greg's swords clasped in his hand. Riza stared at him, "I thought you were part of this thing. why would you do that to your brother?" she asked, just as Roy finished untiying her.

He scratched the back of his neck, "Actually, I was part of this. I was the one who orchestrated this whole thing." he said, stepping over his brother's form. Riza took a step backwards and closer to Roy.

"Roy, give me your gun." She demanded. Roy handed her his gun. She took it and aimed it at Grahm.

"Riza, he may have started this whole thing but we can trust him now." He said in Grahm's defense.

Grahm raised his hands in surrender, "You can trust me. All I wanted to do before I go turn myself in is apologize for everything that I've done."

Riza was about to speak when there was a loud bang. Roy and Riza froze in shock as Grahm's body fell to the floor, blood flowing freely from a gaping hole in the back of his head.

They took their eyes off of the body and looked at the shooter. Greg stood above his brother's body with a manic smile on his face. He held the smoking gun and he addressed Grahm's body, "Poor brother, he always was too weak to finish the job." He said with a small chuckle.

Roy and Riza were still in shock when Greg turned to them with the gun, "It would seem that youtwo will be the next to die. Farewell." He said and raised the gun.

Riza snapped out of her daze and raised her gun as well.

Two shots echoed off the walls then, all was silent.

Otp: I am so totally evil

Riza: Not a cliffy!

Roy: That's not very fair

Otp: Oh poo, anyways I hope you like this chapter and please review until next time! Luvs, hugs, and pocky!!


	18. Close Calls and Final Farewells

Otp: OMG

Otp: OMG!! I am finally finished with this fic!! (does a little victory dance)

Roy: Yeah, you finished, so what? You have a few more that you have to finish now

Otp: …Did you really have to remind me about those?

Riza: You know he did.

Otp: Well, fine then. Be that way. Anyways, Thanks to everyone who has kept up with this fic and for everyone who reviewed as well. It means a lot. So, without further ado, I present the final chapter of Hunted.

Chapter 18 Close Calls and Final Farewells

Time stood dtill, silence permeating the room. All stood motionless, waiting with bated breath for someone to make a move. Roy and Riza were tense with the suspense of the unrellenting silence. Greg was still smiling when his gun clattered to the floor soon followed by its owner. He fell forward and landed with a dull thump over his brother's lifeless form.

Roy let out a sigh of relief, the tension dissapating instantly, "It's over." He stated simply, turning to Riza. "We should—Riza!!" he cried out in surprise upon seeing Riza drop her gun, her left hand pressed against her chest.

Her face was twisted in pain as her chest throbbed. She managed a pained smile, "Bastard a-actually got m-me." She stammered just as she began to fall.

Roy rushed forward and caught her just before she hit the ground. He lowered her down to the floor and tried to stem the bloodflow. His hands covered hers and he pressed down illiciting a pained gasp from Riza. Her eyes were clenched tight in pain and her breathing was starting to get worse.

She had to stay awake, that much he knew. He had to keep her conscious for as long as possible. "Come on Riza, you've got to stay with me now." He said trying and failing to keep his voice calm.

His body was numb and his mind was in chaos. He couldn't think of anything else but Riza. Riza, who was fighting for air. Riza, who was hurt and bleeding, Riza, the woman he loves, dying in front of him. He couldn't hold back the tears of agony that streamed down his face at the thought of possibly losing her. How would he move on? How could he live if she was no longer beside him?

He shook his head fiercely, she wasn't going to die here. He was going to make sure of that. He gazed down into her face, "Riza, please…you have to stay awake. Stay with me!" He pleaded, his tone becoming more desperate with every word.

Riza's gaze was fixed on his face with half-lidded eyes. It was difficult for her to keep them open for much longer, they were so heavy. She gasped, "R-roy." And then her body was wracked with a spasm of coughs. When she finally stopped, there was a trickle of blood coursing down her chin.

Roy's heart was torn to pieces as she lay there in excruciating pain while he could do nothing to stop it. Her eyes slowly began to close and went into a panic, "Riza! Please, stay awake! You—you can't…" he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. Her eyes fluttered open once more and he caught sight of a single, crystalline, tear cascade down her cheek.

She looked at him knowing that she wasn't going to be able to stay conscious for much longer. She was trying to speak when another bout of coughing consumed her body. This time, the pain was too much for her to handle and she felt herself slipping away.

Roy's frantic voice was becoming distant, her vision was quickly fading, and darkness began to wrap her in its embrace. There was nothing more she could do and she disappeared into the darkness.

3 Weeks later:

Riza took a few steps out the hospital doors breathing in the fresh smell of freedom. She had just been discharged from the hospital withher right arm a sling but looking no worse than she had expected. Hell, she couldn't care less, she was glad to be out of the confining, overly clean, hospital room.

She looked up at the clear, blue sky with a smile. Yes, she was _extremely _happy to be outside for the first time in almost a month. Bringing her eyes back down to earth she turned to the doors behind her and waited. Roy had told her to wait outside while he finished getting her perscriptions and personal items.

Roy had never been far from her side the entire three weeks that she had been admitted to the hospital. She was thankful for his presance of course, but he wouldn't take care of his own needs. He hadn't gotten very much sleep in the first week and he was soon carted off one of the empty rooms so he could get some proper sleep.

While she had been lost in thought, Roy was making his way through the door with a plastic'Personal Items' bag. He paused just outside the doors and smiled. That last few weeks had been hard on him and he was relieved that everything had gone as well as they had when it could have been so much worse.

Before he and Grahm had entered the building, he had sent Hayate off to get Maes and the others. He hadn't failed Roy and not long after Riza had lost consciousness, he heard the sirens getting closer. He knew he couldn't move Riza by himself unless he wanted to hurt her even more so he called out to Maes and the others so they could find him.

Everything after that was a jumbled blurr of fear and impatience. He and his friends were waiting in the waiting room when the doctor finally came out and told them that Riza was stable and that she would recover. He also said that if they had been any later, she wouldn't have made it.

So, all in all, one hell of an emotional roller coaster for Roy. He came back to the present to find Riza gazing at him with concern, "Is something wrong Roy? I've been calling your name for that past five minutes." She said, her left hand on her hip.

He smiled and shook his head, "No, nothing's wrong. I was just thinking about how glad I am that you're alive." He said, swooping in and capturing her lips in a quick kiss.

She smiled and rolled her eyes, "That makes two of us."

Roy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began to lead her down the steps towards his car. "Well, now that I've busted you out of the prison cell, where would you like to go? Home?" he asked as he opened the door and helped her into the car.

Riza remained silent for a few moments before she answered, "Can we stop at the florist and then the cemetery?"

Roy's smile waned slightly, he knew exactly what she wanted to do. "Nothing easier My Lady." He said, shutting her door and walking around to the drivers side. He hopped in, started the car, and pealed out into the street towards the florist.

Twenty minutes later they found themselves weaving their way through the plethora of headstones in the cemetery. Roy was in the lead with Riza trailing behind him with a single easter lily dangling from her hand. Her eyes were concentrated on the ground and her expression thoughtful.

Roy came to a stop in front of a white marble grave marker. He waited paitently for Riza to join him. When she did, he silently stood back so it was only her in view of the headstone. He didn't move too far away but just enough to allow her some privacy.

Riza gazed down at the grave with sad eyes full of regret and sorrow. She took a few moments to gather her thoughts.

Then she spoke, "Roy told me who you were and I was angry at myself for not realizing who you were from the beginning. Maybe it was because of how much you had changed over the years that I didn't recognize you. Before you died, you said that you wanted to apologize for everything you had done. In my eyes, you're not the one who should be apologizing, it should be me. I should be thanking you for what you did. You brought Roy back to me. He told me that you just wanted me to be happy. I can honestly tell you that I have never been happier. You helped me find that happiness and for that I am forever in your debt.

"I know I hurt you in the past and I wish I could take all of it back. Saying I'm sorry can't possibly make up for what I've done, but that doesn't mean I can't try. I will say that I am sorry from the bottom of my heart and I hope that you can accept my apology. Forgive me Grahm." She said softly as she placed the easter lily on the headstone. She stood back and Roy was instantly at her side.

"You alright?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yes, let's go home Roy."

Together, they made their way back the way they had come. Behind them, a warm breeze lifted the loose leaves that had fallen on the grave revealing the epitaph.

_Grahm Auswitz_

_(July 17, 1906—August 21, 1931)_

_A Man True of Heart_

_And_

_A Treasured Friend_

Otp: Well, there you have it. It's finally done. I hope you all enjoyed this fic and I will now be working on my other fic A Demon's Heart so heads up. Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought. As always, Luvs, Hugs and Lots of Pocky!!


End file.
